Children
by Random1377
Summary: A series exploring what it's like to be a Child.... from Shinji's point of view.  Final Chapter online.
1. The great war of 2015

Disclaimer: Gainax productions owns all rights to Evangelion, and I own none of them. I am merely using their characters to write a (not for profit) story, and will gladly remove all traces of this file should they request it rather than face legal action. This story takes place sometime after episode 15, though where exactly does not really matter for this chapter. In subsequent chapters I may pin it down further, but for now the most important event in the context of this story has taken place - recently. Enjoy.  
  
Children  
Part 1  
The great war of 2015  
By Random1377  
  
My name is Shinji Ikari. I want to start my story with an image of me on the run. Sounds pretty dramatic, right? Maybe it would be if I weren't on the run from my roommate and fellow Evangelion pilot Asuka Langley Souryu.  
  
It had started out as an average day at school, except for the fact that it was really hot - so hot that everyone had stayed inside for lunch, including Rei Ayanami, who normally chose a quiet, secluded spot to eat her lunch in private.  
  
I guess it would surprise no one to learn that Touji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida - my two friends, had started the Great War of 2015.  
  
"Third CHIIIIIIILLLLLLLD..." Asuka's voice rang through the school hallway, "where ARRRRRRRREEEEEE you?"   
  
-Does she honestly think I'm going to just tell her?- I thought, peeking around the locker I was hiding behind. I drew my small, dripping pistol up, catching sight of her down the hallway.  
  
I knew I was in trouble - she had managed to get a hold of some preposterously huge weapon that had a shoulder strap and needed two hands to carry. -If she finds me,- I thought, -I'm going to get REALLY wet...-  
  
Of course it was a water war - did you think that a bunch of children would be participating in real combat? Ok, so maybe considering that the Children were involved, this is a loaded question, but really... we WERE still just children.  
  
I smiled as she whirled around and unloaded a stream of cold water on Kensuke - who had been trying to sneak up behind her with a full bucket of water, "Nice try, rookie!" she yelled, "Back to basic training for you!"  
  
Asuka's sudden move gave me the chance to slip to a new hiding place. It also caused Kensuke to lose his balance and drop the bucket on himself, soaking him further than he already was.  
  
He shook his fist, spitting out a mouthful of water as Asuka sprayed him again, "I'll get you, Souryu! And you're little dog, too!"  
  
Asuka laughed, holding the trigger down, "Aida," she said mirthfully, "the only thing you'll get is wet if you mess with me."  
  
Kensuke moved off down the hall, trying to avoid Asuka's parting shot, but failing miserably. I took the opportunity to duck into one of the classrooms.  
  
I risked a glance out the window and was treated to the sight of Asuka's flaming red hair as she walked past (fortunately, she was facing the other way, or I would have gotten soaked for sure.) "Where are you, hero?" she said quietly, "You're the only dry one left, and I'm going to change that for you."  
  
She turned and I ducked back quickly, holding my breath and curling into a ball against the door in case she looked through the window.   
  
Before I ducked I lingered briefly on her profile... thinking (not for the first - or last time) of how pretty she was... and what I would sacrifice to have her give me the time of day.  
  
I sighed as I heard her moving off down the hall.  
  
"Ikari." A soft voice startled me, and I looked up suddenly.  
  
-Great,- I thought, -guess dry time is over...- after a moment of agonizing silence I realized that I was not going to get wet. Rei was sitting at her desk quietly, regarding me with what I thought was curiosity (though it was hard to tell with her). I looked around, figuring out that I had ducked into our classroom, -What are the odds?- I thought idly. School was big, and I had run its length and breadth in avoiding Asuka and the others.  
  
"Do you not wish to get wet?" Rei asked my quietly, "It was my understanding that this was the goal of the game."  
  
I smiled, "Actually, the goal of the game is to stay dry as long as possible, and get as many other people wet as you can." My smile fell away as she just stared at me.  
  
"I see," she said, "thank you for clarifying." She turned away and resumed looking out the window.  
  
I watched her for a minute, feeling uncertainty creep through me. Rei was also a pretty girl, but there was something... different about her (I mean aside of her red eyes and blue hair). I tried to sort my feelings for the two girls out.  
  
With Asuka, I felt a strong urge to kiss and hold her... and I had sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach that I might be falling for the redhead. The sinking feeling came from the certainty that she would never hold any feelings for me - she had made that clear with her disgust after our one attempt at a kiss. But I still dreamed about her...  
  
As for the pale-skinned girl in front of me, well... I felt protective of her. When she was near I found myself instinctively edging in front of her to guard against any harm. I would be lying if I said she wasn't attractive... but the desire to defend her, mingled with the urge to be closer to Asuka, made it nearly impossible to think of her as more than a friend or sister.  
  
"Why are you staring at me, Ikari?" she said, breaking me from my thoughts and bringing my eyes up to lock with hers.  
  
"I... I'm sorry," I whispered, blushing deeply. Interacting with people was never one of my better skills... and my strong (though confused) feelings for the girl definitely didn't help. I realized that she was still staring at me, and I stammered out an excuse, "I was... just wondering why you don't play, Ayanami..."  
  
The thought of Rei sneaking down the hallway with a watergun in her hands made me want to smile... but her blank stare took the urge away quickly, "I do not see the purpose," she said calmly, "if you want to be cooler... stay by an air-conditioning unit... if you wish to be wet, bathe."  
  
I looked away from her, "Ayanami..." I said softly, feeling somehow defeated by her cold logic, "do you ever do anything... just for fun?"  
  
She met my eyes levelly, "No." Came her flat reply.  
  
Suddenly I felt incredibly sorry for her. It was bad enough that we had to fight the angels and risk our lives... but then to be denied the chance to be a child. It just seemed... wrong to me. I walked over to her desk, setting my gun down, and dropped into a crouch next to her.   
  
Meeting her eyes with some difficulty I said, "Rei, would you like to... do something with me some time, just for fun?" I realized that it sounded like I was coming on to her, and quickly backtracked, "I don't mean like, anything dirty... I just mean... I..." I trailed off, turning a deeper shade of red than before.  
  
She looked at me, and this time I could definitely see a trace of curiosity, "Why? What purpose would it serve?"  
  
I almost gave up right there... but I thought of her smiling after we had destroyed the fifth angel, and I desperately wanted to see that smile again. "I just thought that maybe... maybe you would enjoy yourself."  
  
"I do not need to enjoy myself," she said coolly, "it holds no purpose other than to distract, and I do not need distraction."  
  
My mind worked furiously, "Rei," I said slowly, trying to mount a convincing argument, "it's ok to have fun sometimes... no one expects you to just fight angels and sit quietly in a corner." I tried to smile, "You can have a little time to enjoy yourself."  
  
I found my conviction failing against the chill, unsmiling face of the First Child, "Why would I want to?" she asked, "It has no purpose for EVA... so I do not see a need for it."  
  
"Give me a minute and I can answer that for you, Wondergirl," a voice behind me spoke up. Cursing, I tried to reach my gun... but before I could get to it a solid stream of cold water hammered me, getting me instantly drenched.  
  
As I sputtered, Asuka smiled brightly and said, "Now then," she let the gun dangle by its strap and went to the blackboard, "Here's a simple equation for you to follow," on the board she wrote 'all work + no play = dull Wondergirl', "makes sense?" she dropped the chalk, "You have fun because it makes you feel good," she said, surprising me by not slamming Rei more than she already had... I should have known to wait for the other shoe to fall.   
  
She tilted her head to the side, "That's why you're such a boring, uninteresting person, I think... because you're too unfeeling to know what a good time was even if you were having one."  
  
I blinked at the harshness of her words, "Now that that's been cleared up," Asuka said coolly, "I'm going to find Hikari and get out of here... this war is over." She let the gun slide from her shoulder and drop to the floor. In an odd moment of clarity, I noticed a bit of water gurgle from the barrel, and thought of how cold Asuka was... like the water that soaked me to the skin and pooled in front of the oversized toy gun.  
  
I wondered if she ever felt warm.  
  
"Ikari?" Rei whispered. I looked over to find her holding her shirt out away from her body, "I am... damp."  
  
**  
  
Even though the war had broken out spontaneously, I had an extra towel in my locker (though it was the first all-out war, it certainly wasn't the first skirmish), so I had given it to Rei and walked home in the hot afternoon, letting myself dry along the way.  
  
-What is Asuka's problem?- I wondered as I walked, -It's not like she's known Rei all that long... I wonder why she hates her so much...- I sighed, -I wonder why I keep thinking about her,- my thoughts turned to a path much tread in the last few weeks, -she hardly talks to me outside of NERV... and when she does it's just to insult me...-  
  
But still, she fascinated me. Her beauty captivated me and her strength made me envious... even though it seemed that I represented the lowest form of life to her.  
  
-No,- I corrected myself, -SECOND lowest.- I thought about her parting shot at Rei... the one about her having no feelings. I knew she was wrong because I'd seen Rei smile - even though I'd asked her to do it, it was genuine. Also, when we watched the tape of the fight with the tenth angel I had seen something that Asuka - and apparently no one else - had on Unit 00's feed: Rei had snarled. Just a slight pulling downward at the corners of her mouth and a tiny narrowing of her eyes... but it was there. I had re-watched the tape twice to make sure I wasn't imagining it.  
  
-Oh,- I thought, -she's got feelings alright... but she hides them so deep...- briefly, I wondered if Asuka had kindness in her. Though I had seen no trace of it, I thought that perhaps she was more like Rei when it came to feelings than she cared to admit.  
  
My thoughts were interrupted by the cold splash of a breaking water balloon on the nape of my neck, taking my breath away.  
  
"HA!" A deep voice laughed behind me, "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?"  
  
I turned to find Touji and Kensuke standing directly behind me, "Damnit Touji," I said, with no real anger, "I was almost dry!"  
  
"THAT'S why you needed it so bad, my man!" Touji grinned, pointing at me for emphasis, "When you BACKSTABBED me on the second floor, I was almost dry too."  
  
"I think 'shot me in the back' is more appropriate," Kensuke threw in, "or maybe... ambushed?"  
  
Touji looked at him, "Bushwhacked?" he said, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"Bum-rushed?" Kensuke retorted.  
  
In unison they said, "Betrayed..." and began nodding sagely and stroking their chins.  
  
I rolled my eyes, "Sorry..." I mumbled with a frown, feeling the urge to apologize... even though it was just a game.  
  
Touji laughed and patted me on the shoulder, "Relax, man... it was a good shot."  
  
I looked at him doubtfully, "If you say so..."  
  
He laughed again, "Hey!" he said suddenly as we resumed walking, "That reminds me - Asuka challenged us to a paintball game next week... you in?"  
  
"Paintball?" I blinked, "ASUKA challenged you?" I thought there was something wrong with this concept, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  
  
"Yeah," Kensuke said, "I believe her exact words were, 'You guys are a bunch of WIMPS! Waterguns... whatever! If you were REALLY men you'd face me in a paintball game! ...dorks.'" He looked at Touji, "That sound about right?"  
  
Touji nodded, "Close, but you didn't have enough sarcasm in your 'dorks'."  
  
I shook my head, "Yeah... I guess I'm in... but don't you think that maybe she has something planned? I mean, she wouldn't lay down a challenge unless she was sure she'd win..." the more I thought about this, the more it sounded right.  
  
"No way!" Touji and Kensuke said at the same time. Kensuke went on, "I play every weekend... and I've studied the layout of the play fields." He pointed at his chest, "Plus I'm a master tactician!"  
  
Touji and I looked at him, then at each other... and burst out laughing. "I don't see what's so funny..." he grumbled, adjusting his glasses.  
  
Touji smiled, "Yeah... we know you don't..." This made me laugh harder as we continued our walk through the hot afternoon.  
  
It hit me later as I lay in bed listening to some old music on my SDAT that I didn't laugh very often. Like I said before, when you're talking about Children, with a capitol C, certain exceptions are made... and I guess that was one of them. It occurred to me that same night (and not for the first time) that I hated my life - except when I got to spend time with my friends... and act like the child that I was. Child with a lower case C...  
  
Continued...  
  
Author's notes: what I wanted to capture with this fiction is the fact that the Children who pilot EVA are just that - children. They play, they have fun, they act normal... but they've been forced into a situation they don't understand and can barely comprehend. I'm trying to create a little piece of childhood... and fill it with normal things - but at the same time, explore how these children must feel with all of the pressure put on them. I plan to keep it PG-13, and for anyone that thinks fourteen year olds would not use the kind of language or have the kind of thoughts that I've depicted, then you have probably forgotten what it is like to be fourteen... or else you are in SERIOUS denial. ;)  
  
Thanks to Ryoma, JobFaust, Lord DeathScythe, and Ryoji986 for pre-reading.  
  
Feedback is welcome at random1377@yahoo.com  
  



	2. Crush

Disclaimer: see part 1  
  
Children  
Part 2  
Crush  
By Random1377  
  
"Not bad, Shinji," Misato Katsuragi's voice came over the voice link, "you're getting closer to Asuka."  
  
It was four days after the Great War, as Kensuke and Touji were calling it, though what was so great about it I didn't know. I had been in the test plug for two hours already, and I still had one to go... so I didn't feel too enthusiastic.  
  
I blinked, "Really? That's... great..." I said flatly. -Getting closer to Asuka? Yeah, right...- I knew what Misato meant, but the way she said it made me frown as I thought of the other possible meaning behind the words. -I wonder if Asuka wants to...- I let the thought trail off and focussed on the rest of the test, deciding to ask her what was on my mind the next time I saw her.  
  
"You ok?" once again my guardian interrupted my train of thought.  
  
"Yeah," I said, opening my eyes again, "I just have a lot of school work, and-"  
  
Ritsuko Akagi's voice cut me off, "Don't forget what is more important, Shinji," she said coolly, "try and stay focussed, ok? School concerns are WAY down on the priority list."  
  
I frowned deeper, briefly considering telling her that I HAD been focussing until Misato spoke, but my urge to please took over, "Yes ma'am..." I said obediently.  
  
**  
  
After the test, I caught up with Asuka as she left the plug area, "Hey," I said, waving to get her attention, "do you... want to go bowling later?"  
  
It had taken all that was in me to ask that one, simple question... and I was terrified of her response.  
  
"Bowling?" she echoed, "The two of us?"  
  
"Not just with me," I added hastily, seeing her start to frown, "Touji and Kensuke are coming... and so is Hikari."  
  
Her frown lifted - slightly. "Well," she said, "if Hikari's going I guess she and I can find something to talk about while you stooges make fools of yourselves... wait," she said, narrowing her eyes, "Wondergirl isn't going is she?"  
  
I shook my head. I had tried to convince her to, but she could not 'see what purpose it would serve' - I was beginning to dislike that phrase.  
  
Asuka's brow cleared, "Ok, then I'll go. I'm going to Hikari's later anyway, so we'll just meet you guys at the alley."  
  
Without bothering to say goodbye she moved off towards the girl's locker room, trying to work her hand through her LCL caked hair and muttering in disgust. I sighed as I watched her retreat, letting my eyes sink guiltily to her well-shaped rear.  
  
"See something you like, Shinji?" A voice said behind me.  
  
I jumped a bit and turned around, "K-Kaji..." I stammered, "I was just... I was..."  
  
He laughed, "Calm down, Shinji... I won't tell her you were looking." He grinned broadly, "If you'll ask her out."  
  
"KAJI!" I shouted, blushing fiercely, "I... I can't do that..."  
  
"Why not?" he wondered, smiling and leaning against the wall, "I can see by the way you look at her that you have a crush on her, Shinji. What's the problem? You're a boy, she's a girl... people have been doing it for many years," he winked, "or so I understand."  
  
I flushed, looking down the hall she had gone into, "It's..." I struggled for the right words, "It's not that simple - I just can't. Not with her..." I looked at him, trying not to say what I felt, but knowing it was the only way he would understand, "I... I think she hates me... she's always calling me names and treating me like a moron."  
  
Kaji sighed, "Shinji, at your age it's a little too early to know exactly what hate is... or love for that matter..." he saw my downcast eyes, "ok..." he said with another, deeper sigh, "I'll keep your secret anyway. But think about it Shinji, she can be a very sweet girl."  
  
"Yeah," I said bitterly, "if your name happens to be Kaji..." I instantly regretted my words as he blinked in surprise. "Kaji... I'm sorry, I-"  
  
"No," he said wearily, looking to where the redhead had disappeared, "you're right... I'm afraid that she does see something that isn't there..." he shook his head, "but I don't know how to tell her. If I say flat out that I don't see her that way, it would break her heart... so tell me - what should I do?"   
  
I looked at the floor and shook my head, wondering what it would be like to be in his shoes and have such a beautiful girl chasing after me - I decided that it wouldn't be so bad. "I don't know..." I admitted, "but at least she likes you... at least she wants to be near you... at least she doesn't call you idiot all the time."  
  
"She's a very confused girl," he said softly, "much like you are."  
  
I smiled weakly, "I'm not a girl, Kaji... didn't I tell you that before?"  
  
He laughed, "Though I'm PRETTY sure you know what I meant, it's nice to know that you've kept your sense of humor." He put a hand on my shoulder, turning serious, "Let me offer you one last piece of advice, Shinji: at least consider the possibility. Asuka may seem like a hard girl, but she IS still a girl - and a very lonely one at that. Don't discount the idea of being with her just because she MIGHT say no."  
  
"But I'm not like you, Kaji," I protested, "I don't know how to talk to women..."  
  
"It's not that hard, really..." he said, dropping his voice to a confidential whisper, "just walk up to her and say, 'Asuka, would you like to go out some time?' Easy as that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go try it myself with that new data technician." He squeezed my shoulder and smiled, then turned and walked away.  
  
I watched him as he departed, thinking about how simple his advice sounded. -Almost TOO simple,- I thought with a frown, -I wonder if he even remembers being fourteen...- It occurred to me that I didn't actually KNOW how old he was... I guessed about thirty, but I couldn't be sure. But however old he was he certainly seemed to have forgotten how hard it was to ask a girl out. I shook my head and went to the showers, trying to convince myself that Asuka could ever feel for me what I felt for her.  
  
At the bowling alley, I got a pretty definitive answer.  
  
**  
  
Kensuke had not shown up (Touji told me he had to go see his grandmother or something, but had been quick to say he'd be back in time for paintball), so it was just me and Touji bowling. Hikari had blushed when asked if she wanted to play, and admitted that she did not know how.   
  
Asuka had flat out refused, saying she would rather talk to Hikari than get all sweaty and put her feet in someone else's shoes just to make us look bad (I had a vague suspicion that she wasn't very good, and that was the reason she didn't want to play... but I felt it wise to keep this idea to myself.)  
  
Touji and I decided to trade off sets rather than switching every frame, 'Let's me stay in the groove...' Touji said when he suggested the idea. I just shrugged, as it made no difference to me.  
  
As I wrote down Touji's score for the sixth frame, I became aware of Asuka and Hikari talking behind me, and I tried to focus my attention on them. A lot of people think just because I'm quiet that I'm deaf, too... it offers me great opportunities to listen without being noticed (call it eavesdropping if you will, but I prefer the term 'surreptitious aural observation'. It sounds better and it's really hard to pronounce, so it confuses people if you ever have to try and explain what you're doing.)  
  
"I don't know Asuka," Hikari was saying reluctantly, "You know that I-"  
  
"Oh will you stop!" Asuka said angrily, "I know who you like, you don't have to keep harping, you know! And it wouldn't hurt to broaden your horizons a bit, HE'S too thick to ever do anything anyway." She became more earnest, "All I'm saying is you've been waiting for him to ask you out for a year and nothing's happening... maybe you should give someone else a chance."  
  
I wondered who the pretty class rep would be interested in, -Wish it was me,- I thought enviously, -she's not too bad at all...- I smiled at the idea, thinking of how cute her freckles were, and how (unlike Asuka) she was actually friendly.  
  
"Why don't YOU ask him out then?" Hikari said sweetly, "You haven't had a date since you got here, you know."  
  
"Ha!" Asuka barked, "That'll be the day. None of these BOYS are on my level... Kaji is the only man for me."  
  
"What about Shinji?" Hikari asked. My ears perked up and my heartbeat accelerated, "He's pretty cute... and really nice." I tried not to blush and give myself away.  
  
I made sure I was concentrating on Touji's next shot as Asuka looked my way, "That dufus?" She said, not bothering to keep her voice down, "I'd rather date Kensuke, at least HE doesn't apologize all the time."  
  
I had suspected her response to be something along those lines, but to hear it so plainly still hurt. "Shinji! Your turn." Touji walked up, "You ok man? You look like you just found out Kensuke's got a bigger one."  
  
I forced a smile as he unknowingly echoed Asuka's implication that Kensuke was a better man, "Nah, I've seen him in gym." This earned me a laugh as I stood to make my first shot.  
  
I threw it straight into the gutter.  
  
"Nice one, Third Child!" Asuka said, clapping loudly, "I'm glad you brought me along... it's nice to know that the invincible Shinji Ikari can make mistakes like the rest of us mortals."  
  
At that moment I felt like asking her to come with had been the mistake. I thought of Kaji's words, 'She's a very confused girl'. -She seems to know what she wants to me...- I thought sadly, -I guess Kaji doesn't know as much about women as I thought.-  
  
  
The rest of the games blurred past, but my mind was trapped in the first game's eighth frame, going back over Asuka's words. By the end of the night I decided that asking her out would be the worst thing I could ever do, so I bid her goodnight, citing the need for a walk as the reason I wasn't heading towards home.  
  
"Whatever," she muttered, "Hikari, walk with me, k?"  
  
**  
  
I walked all over Tokyo-3 for three hours, trying to sort out my feelings. When I returned to the apartment it was with the intention of listening to my SDAT and going to sleep.   
  
Instead I found Asuka waiting for me, sitting at the kitchen table and reading a magazine.  
  
"Hey dork," she said, looking up from the article she was reading and using one of her pet names for me, "you remember that the paintball thing is day after tomorrow, right?"  
  
"Yeah..." I said, confused by her upbeat manner.  
  
"You wanna go practice tomorrow? Get ready for it?" she offered. I studied her face closely, looking for any trace of insincerity.  
  
Finding none, I blinked, "Umm... sure, that would be... yeah." I stammered, feeling my face grow hot.  
  
"No need to get all worked up," she said, getting up and heading for her room, "it's just practice. It's not like I asked you on a date, you spaz." She closed her door, shaking her head sadly.  
  
"Yeah..." I whispered to the now-empty room, "of course not."  
  
I stood in silence for a while, trying to figure out why I had reacted that way to her offer. She was right, it wasn't like a date, and I'm sure she only wanted to ensure our victory... but still, the fact that she had asked at all made me happy.  
  
I briefly wondered if I should tell her no. The idea of being with her for several hours alone - even dressed in plastic armor and face masks - appealed to me... but I knew that it would only lead to me wanting her more - and after tonight there was no doubt in my mind that I could never have her.  
  
Finally, I did what I knew from the beginning I would do. I went to my room... turned my SDAT on to my favorite mix... and began to drift... thinking as I did that I should tell Misato not to worry about dinner tomorrow because Asuka and I would be practicing... and hating myself for my weakness as sleep finally claimed me.  
  
Continued...  
  
Author's notes: None. (What, I need to have notes every time? As Asuka might say: "Whatever..." ;P )  
  
Thanks to JobFaust for pre-reading and helping out with the flow. You rock, dude.  
  
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com  
  



	3. Killer's grace

Disclaimer: see part 1  
  
Children  
Part 3  
Killer's grace  
By Random1377  
  
There is something about risking your life with the same people all the time that forms a certain bond to them. This isn't exactly a profound or original thought, but as me, Asuka, and Rei ran onto the paintball field and dashed into our base, it occurred to me how close I had grown to them on a certain level... how I felt like I knew what they needed and how they would react.  
  
It also hit me how they moved. I noticed it first with Asuka... the way she seemed to - I don't know, FLOW gracefully across the field... swinging her gun from left to right in a search for targets. It was present in Rei also, though subtler, as she held her gun down at her side... but ready to bring it up quickly if she needed too.  
  
It was the air of someone who has killed before... someone who knows what it means to take life.  
  
The feeling intensified as we entered the base exactly two seconds before it was peppered with paintballs, when Asuka's eyes immediately scanned the small area and found a partition to hide behind that offered her maximum cover with the best view of the remaining part of the field (and kept our flag in plain sight).  
  
Rei selected a similar place, but one that did not offer a view of the field... it was purely defensive. As I ducked behind a plastic wall, I wondered briefly if the selection of hiding spots indicated something about their personalities... and I also wondered if I moved the way they did.  
  
"Watch out, you idiot!" Asuka yelled, pumping two rounds into one of the members of the green team as he dove into the base and drew a bead on me.  
  
"Why did we agree to this again?" I yelled as two more greens and a red tried to storm our position.  
  
I put one of the greens down with a shot to the chest, and Asuka took the other two kids with quick, well-placed shots, "Because!" she said, smiling fiercely, "We can win!"  
  
I didn't share her confidence.  
  
We had started out playing simple, five on five games, trading players the whole time. Then Touji had muttered something about how the Children always seemed to do the best... things had deteriorated from there.  
  
'Of course!' Asuka had said proudly, 'I could take the lot of you by myself!'  
  
'Whatever...' Touji had said, 'you're good, but you're not THAT good...'  
  
'Oh yeah!?' Asuka had yelled, 'tell you what: me, Wondergirl, and the hero here,' she had grabbed my cheek for emphasis (and not gently), 'will take all of you on.'  
  
'What,' Touji had snorted, 'all five of us against the three of-'  
  
'Uh-uh,' Asuka had smiled, putting her hands on the table and leaning forward until she was right in Touji's face, 'I mean ALL of you...' she gestured around the room, taking in everyone present, "AND we'll kick your ass, too!' She smiled, showing all of her teeth, 'Unless you think the twenty-two of you can't HANDLE the three of us... which, by the way, you can't.'  
  
'Oh,' he had said, getting to his feet, 'you are SO on!'  
  
'STAKES!' Kensuke had shouted, jumping up, 'We have to have some stakes!'  
  
'I do not like meat...' Rei spoke up quietly from the corner, misunderstanding Kensuke's comment as she rose to her feet and prepared to leave. I thought later that this may have been deliberate... a way to get out of the game - after all, it had taken a week of constant, mind breaking discussions on the topic of why fun was a good thing to get her to agree to come at all.  
  
To this day I'm surprised Asuka didn't slap her on the spot, 'Not steak like meat, you twit!' she had shouted, 'He means stakes like high-stakes... like a bet. You DO know what a bet is, don't you First?'  
  
She had then turned to Kensuke, dismissing Rei entirely before she had a chance to speak, 'What did you have in mind?'  
  
So that brings us back to the assault we currently faced. With these four down, we still had eighteen more to go... including Touji (who was a good shot, and dodged well) and Kensuke (who, it turned out, actually WAS a good tactician). I thought her optimism was unfounded.  
  
Not to mention the stakes we had agreed upon now seemed VERY unreasonable.  
  
"Ikari, get down." Rei said quietly.  
  
I hit the dirt as a stream of yellow paintballs filled the air I had just vacated. "Thanks, Ayanami..." I said shakily. I had almost been taken out in the first few minutes because I was daydreaming.   
  
She leveled her gun and pulled the trigger, catching another player in the mask as he rose up to shoot, "It is my position to defend you," she said simply, "I have not forgotten."  
  
I frowned, a vague memory tickling my mind... but it escaped me before I could latch onto it.  
  
"Ok," Asuka said, scanning the field (which was currently devoid of any players - them having all taken cover against Asuka's onslaught), "We'll sit tight until about half of them are out, then Wondergirl will defend the base while you and me go get the flags, green first, then yellow, then red last - got it?"  
  
"I understand..." Rei said calmly, firing again as two more players tried to rush our position.  
  
"I don't know..." I hesitated, "Rei could get hurt by herself, and-"  
  
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Asuka cut me off, "SHE gets it! What's your problem? She not going to get hurt, that's what the armor is for, idiot!"  
  
"Do you not wish to win?" Rei asked quietly.  
  
"I..." I was at a loss for words. My innate desire to protect Rei warring with my need to please everyone.  
  
"The doll understands," Asuka reiterated, pointing at Rei with her gun, "you better get your ass in line! I don't want to lose because you're too wimpy to let her do her job!"  
  
"But-" Our plans were shot to hell as another player dove into the base.  
  
Rei quickly put two balls of paint on his chest, effectively killing him... but he returned fire anyway, catching Rei off guard with a shot to the face.  
  
Now, normally the facemask is a good piece of protective equipment... but occasionally, a shot can get under it and hit the bare skin - which is what happened now.  
  
Rei gasped in shock as the ball smashed into her throat.  
  
"You bastard!" Asuka screamed, covering him from head to toe in blue (our team color) as he jumped up and ran off, trying to cover every place at once. "What a dick!" Asuka fumed, "I should have their team disqualified..."  
  
I hardly heard her as I looked at the pained expression on Rei's face through the mask... and the small line of blood running down her neck.  
  
"Ayanami!!" I gasped, rushing over to her and reaching for her mask as I helped her sit.  
  
"What are you doing?!" Asuka yelled, "Don't take her mask off, you'll disqualify us!"  
  
I tried to say, "But Rei is-"   
  
"She'll be fine!" Asuka shouted, "Now come on! I want to win this."  
  
I hesitated, looking into Rei's red eyes, "But..."  
  
"DAMNIT!" Asuka shouted, "If you like her so much, why don't you fucking marry her?!"  
  
I looked from one girl to the other, trying to decide what to do.  
  
Asuka's patience finally ran out, "FINE! I'll finish it myself!" I gasped in surprise as I felt two hard thumps on my back.  
  
I reached back to touch the place that was now throbbing slightly, and my fingers came away stained in blue, "A-Asuka?" I whispered.  
  
She leaned down and snatched my gun from me, "I won't lose..." she whispered coldly into my face, "do you understand me, Third Child? I will NOT!"  
  
She rose, alternating fire between both guns as she saw three more people sneaking across the field, "Two dead people coming out!" She yelled, pressing her back against one of the walls, "Shoot them again if you want..." She met my eyes, "Go on," she said flatly, gesturing to the entrance to our base, "get your precious doll out of here... you both make me sick..."  
  
I put an arm around Rei's slender waist, trying not to notice the way her breast pressed into my side, and helped her to her feet so we could make our way off of the field. I swallowed, "Good luck, Asuka..." I said quietly, hoping to make some sort of peace with her.  
  
She never replied.  
  
**  
  
"Is something wrong, Rei?" I said, carefully swabbing her small cut with an antiseptic pad.  
  
We were off to the side of the arena in a tiny alcove marked First Aid. Asuka was still playing, apparently having survived this long - and sending several more disgruntled players off the field. Rei had been staring at me with a barely visible frown since I had taken her mask off to check the wound she had sustained.  
  
"Why did you question Pilot Souryu's command authority?" She finally asked, "Her strategy was the best for the situation... why did you not follow orders?"  
  
I flushed, "You were hurt and I-"  
  
She cut me off, "You became disobedient before my injury, Ikari..." she said quietly.  
  
"I..." I looked away, getting a Band-Aid, before replying, "her plan would have put you in danger..." I answered, avoiding her eyes and putting the bandage on her soft skin, "I didn't want to see you get hurt."  
  
"It is merely a game," she said, tilting her head to the side, "I was not in any true danger... and had I been, I do not see the benefit of your protection, as I am trained as you are to defend myself."  
  
I blinked hard, feeling deeply hurt by her words.   
  
She went on, not noticing my sadness, "Why did you not want to see me injured? You have seen it before..."  
  
I looked up at her, unprepared for this question, "I didn't want to see you get hurt because... because I... care for you, Ayanami..." I stuttered.  
  
"Why?" was her curious reply.  
  
I was at a loss for words, "W-Why?" I repeated.  
  
She just stared at me calmly, waiting for an answer.  
  
"Well... I..." I scratched my head, wishing someone would rescue me from the hole I'd dug myself into.  
  
My salvation came in the form of a very upset looking Touji, "MAN!" he said, sitting down next to me and dropping his mask on the floor, "It's just not fair! I had a clean shot at her and she..." he gestured with his hand, making a circular movement, "twists out of the way and nails me! I don't get it!"  
  
Rei stood abruptly, "I must leave," she said quietly, "Ikari... I will speak with you another day."  
  
As she walked calmly out of the building I frowned, not relishing the next time I would talk to her. -Well,- I thought, -at least I have SOME time to think up a good explanation - and maybe take my FOOT out of my mouth!! What is WRONG with me?!?! Why did I say that to her!? Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!-  
  
I looked up and saw that Touji was watching me closely, smiling. "What?" I said, not liking the way he was looking at me one bit.  
  
"So..." he said, obviously pleased with himself for the upcoming strike. I cringed internally, prepared for something bad. I wasn't prepared enough, "Shinji... my man..." he began, then dropped her voice to a whisper, "are you doing Ayanami?"  
  
I jumped up, "NO! She was just hur-"  
  
"Oh, come on!" he said, pulling me back down, "You can tell me! I saw you watch her walk out of here... there's DEFINITELY something going on between you two..."  
  
"Between who two?" Kensuke asked, wiping a splotch of paint off of his face as he walked up.  
  
I groaned internally, -Not the two of them...- I begged, -not now!!-  
  
Touji smiled sympathetically, "Got you too, huh?" for a brief and shining moment I thought I had been forgotten. VERY brief... and VERY shining, "Shinji here is getting freaky with Rei - and he never told us!"  
  
Kensuke looked at me, feigning hurt, "And here I thought I was your best friend! You're getting some and you don't even tell anyone! That's low, man!"  
  
I jumped up again, yelling at the top of my lungs, "I am not sleeping with anyone!!" I looked around as approximately thirty-five teenagers (many of them members of my own class) began clapping and whistling. I got several calls of, 'Yeah, we know!' and 'It's ok man, you're young!' And I sat back down, trying to pull into my armor.  
  
Kensuke gave Touji a high-five, "Damn, Shinji..." he said, pushing his glasses up, "you don't have to yell..."  
  
I put my head in my hands, wishing that force of will could change the past, -Just five minutes back,- I thought, -that's all I ask...-  
  
I was spared further humiliation (public humiliation, anyway... I knew I would never hear the end of it from these two when we were alone) by the overhead alarm sounding the end of the game.  
  
I looked up to see Asuka walking calmly through a throng of gawking teenagers. Whither they were gawking because she had single-handedly trounced the remaining thirteen or so players, or because she was just so hot, I didn't know... I knew that I was staring for both reasons   
  
I looked at the handful of flags in her hand, then up at her face - she was smiling, "Here, Third Child..." she said as she came to stand in front of me, "got you a little something." She opened her hand and let the flags fall at my feet.  
  
"I..." she didn't let me say anything. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into an alcove off to the side.  
  
"Next time, do what you're told!!" she said, the smile falling away as she pushed me up against the wall where no one could see, "we could have finished a half hour ago... but you had to get all noble!"  
  
"Sorry, I..." she cut me off again as Touji and Kensuke slipped up behind her to see what was going on. Thankfully, they were the only ones.  
  
"Save it!" She frowned deeply, "You better never, EVER pull any shit like that when we're in combat, got it?" I nodded quickly, "I'm outta here... I'm going to spend the night at Hikari's - I can't stand the sight of you right now."  
  
I nodded as she turned and walked away  
  
"Come on, man... it's not that bad..." Touji said reassuringly, "You've still got Ayanami." He winked as I shot him a glare.  
  
"Yeah," Kensuke said, pushing his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose, "and besides, you guys won." He followed my glance, "Don't worry about her, man... she's got permanent PMS. Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving."  
  
I just nodded, watching Asuka sling her bag over her shoulder and walk out the door. Though I was technically on the winning team, I most certainly did NOT feel like a winner...  
  
Continued...  
  
Thanks to JobFaust for pre-reading and catching some mistakes, I owe you one (one WHAT, I'm not sure... but one SOMETHING...)  
  
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com  
  



	4. Kiss and tell

Disclaimer: see end of this chapter for updated disclaimer.  
  
Children  
Part 4  
Kiss and tell  
By Random1377  
  
One nice thing about making your own lunch and bringing it to school is that you never have to eat cafeteria food. Fortunately, I've only had to eat the 'food' in our cafeteria once or twice.  
  
To be perfectly honest, I didn't even know we HAD a cafeteria until Touji (who else?) pointed it out to me one day when I forgot my lunch.  
  
It was my first bout with food poisoning.  
  
One thing that was nice about the cafeteria, though, was that it offered us the chance to sit and look at all the pretty girls while we ate... umm, I mean study while we ate... yeah, study.  
  
"Check her out!" Kensuke whispered, 'pointing' with his eyes at one of the transfer students from America, a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and VERY long legs.  
  
We all sighed in appreciation.  
  
"She's nice," Touji conceded, "but give me one of the Mitsukis any day..." he inclined his head (very subtly) to his right, and I stole a glance over that way.  
  
The girls were sitting at the table against the far wall... and they were engaging in a heated argument.  
  
Well... Mitsuki Sanada was, anyway - gesturing wildly and making no attempt to be quiet. Her sister, Mitsuki Rara, was calmly eating her lunch and responding in a low voice... so low I couldn't hear it over the crowd, but I could see her lips moving.  
  
It was a given fact that the two Mitsukis were among the hottest girls in school, second only to Asuka in the last guy-poll (these were conducted quietly, secretly, and with a LOT of glances over the shoulder to make sure none of the girls in question happened by). This fact seemed to irritate both Mitsuki Sanada AND Asuka... though why either of them would care is beyond me.  
  
I once overheard them arguing about it... standing in the middle of the hall, and ignoring the various stares, catcalls, and shouts of encouragement. 'You think you're SOOO hot, don't you!' Asuka had said, putting her hands on her hips, 'You're NOTHING, do you hear me? Just a pathetic little tramp, so wrapped up in that Kazuki kid that you failed your last test.'  
  
'Puh-lease,' Mitsuki had replied, crossing her arms, 'like you'd know anything about it, freshie. And what makes you so damned cool, anyway? Those stupid little hair clips you always wear?' She reached into her backpack suddenly, 'Here,' she said, handing Asuka a handful of change, 'go buy some fashion sense.'  
  
Asuka had slapped the money out of her hand, 'FRESHIE!?' Her face had turned bright red, and her fists clenched at her sides, 'I finished college, you BITCH! And they're not 'hairclips' they're neural connectors... they let me sync with my EVA - which has saved your ASS!'  
  
Mitsuki had yawned, 'Yeah, yeah... I've seen your robot. Big deal. Its big, it stomps around, it ruins half the city in one fall... but at least it's red. Good color."  
  
Before the spat had elevated into an all-out brawl, the bell had rung. The girls had glared at each other for another thirty seconds, then spun around at exactly the same time and stomped off in opposite directions.  
  
"They are both very nice..." I said, bringing myself back to the present and tearing my eyes away from Mitsuki Rara's long, light-brown hair with some difficulty, "but why do they have the same name? Isn't that a little odd?"  
  
"You want to know my theory?" Kensuke said, leaning forward with an intense look on his face.  
  
"Not this again!" Touji groaned in disgust.  
  
Kensuke ignored him, "I think they're really the same girl - and one of them is from a parallel world. You just don't get two girls that good looking without extraordinary circum-"  
  
"They're twins, you dipshit!" Touji exploded.  
  
Kensuke was not to be deterred, "Then how do you explain the fact that they have different mothers? And I've heard that both of them claim that the girls are theirs."  
  
"One of them remarried, dumbass!" Touji replied, "And besides..."   
  
As they continued to argue I tuned them out, concentrating instead on Asuka as she and Hikari sat down at the table across from us... pointedly ignoring our presence. In the last two days she had been surprisingly neutral towards me... not even mentioning the paintball game (and my... insubordination) at all. This last detail worried Touji and Kensuke... a lot.  
  
"Earth to Shinji, hello?" I realized that Touji was talking to me.  
  
"Huh?" I said, turning around.  
  
Kensuke spoke up, skeptically, "We were discussing the possibility of going out with girls of that caliber," I rolled my eyes. Kensuke took any chance to mention firearms that he could, "and Touji here claims he kissed Miho yesterday..." his face said loud and clear that he didn't buy it for a second.  
  
Neither did I, "Izawa? The senior?" I said, "Yeah, right... maybe last night in your dreams... perv."  
  
At the mention of the girl's name, Hikari's head whipped around... and I would have sworn she said something involving the word, 'whore...' but I know that can't be... Hikari's too straight laced. And besides - why would she care if Miho was kissing Touji?  
  
I looked around for the girl in question, finally locating her near the back of the room with a group of her friends. I took in her long, black hair and pretty face, thinking, -If he's telling the truth... he's a lucky man...- I froze as her eyes met mine for a moment. They were almost the same color as mine, but they held a hint of green in the deep, dark blue. She also had a mole under her right eye, kind of like Doctor Akagi's.   
  
She didn't hold my gaze. Instead, her eyes continued on their path to finding Touji... and stopped, a faint trace of a smile appearing briefly on her full lips before she looked away.  
  
I blinked, unsure I had seen the smile at all, -Maybe he did...- I thought with some amazement.  
  
"It happened!" Touji said indignantly, "Right after third period, in the stairway between the first and second floor. She grabbed the back of my head and laid it on me - hell, she even stuck her tongue in my mouth!"  
  
"Bullshit." Kensuke said flatly, "There is no way a girl THAT hot would be interested in a sophomore... no way!"  
  
"He's right, Touji..." I agreed with some reluctance, -I hate confrontation,- I thought miserably, "it DOES seem kind of hard to believe. I mean, would you believe ME if I told you I'd kissed Mitsuki?"  
  
"Which one?" Touji said, "Because if you're talking about Mitsuki Rara... maybe..." he leaned further over, "I heard she's got a thing for you, my man." I blinked -HARD- as he went on, "And besides," he said belligerently, taking the offensive (and I DO mean OFFENSIVE), as he grew more upset by our continued disbelief, "have you EVER kissed a girl, Shinji? Didn't think so, so shut up!"  
  
"Actually, I have..." I said quietly, hoping Asuka was not listening. I turned her way and found her blue eyes digging into mine. She was frowning slightly.  
  
"Details!" Kensuke yelled, "GIVE!"  
  
"I..." I hesitated as Asuka's frown deepened and she shook her head once... left to right... very slowly.  
  
I looked at my two friends, who had leaned forward to hear, "Come on, man!" Touji pressed, "I told you all about mine... now talk!"  
  
I hesitated a moment longer, then said, "Ok... it was back in my old town..." Asuka smiled and relaxed visibly. I frowned, -Why should I be the only uncomfortable one?- I thought with a sudden flare of anger, -Let's see how she likes it!- I leaned further forward, "She asked me if I wanted to kiss her... I didn't really want to, but I did it anyway."  
  
Asuka blinked in surprise, and Touji said, "Was she cute? Why wouldn't you want to kiss her?"  
  
I smiled slightly at Asuka, -How does it feel, Second Child?- I thought, "I didn't really want too because she only wanted to do it to kill time... she didn't really like me at all... and yeah... she was pretty - really pretty..."  
  
I wished that I could read the expression on her face, but she smoothed her features as she saw me looking at her. I continued, watching for any reaction at all, "When I finally agreed - after she asked if I was scared - she said my breath was tickling her, so she pinched my nose closed... I couldn't breathe."  
  
Kensuke and Touji blinked in union, then broke out laughing, "Oh man!!" Touji laughed, "That's HARSH! How long did she suffocate you?"  
  
Asuka's face flashed with surprise, probably at the fact that I was willing to admit to letting a girl practically choke me while we kissed. "About two minutes," I said, still holding Asuka's eyes, "and when she finally let me go, she ran to the bathroom and started gargling really loud... making a big deal about how gross it had been..."  
  
At this, I thought Asuka blushed slightly, the corners of her mouth turning down at a severe angle. The odd thing (for me, anyway) is that I didn't care... I hoped that she DID feel bad about it, I know that *I* sure felt like an idiot when she had run to the bathroom that night, making me feel like the gum stuck to the bottom of her shoe.  
  
Touji's next question caught me totally off guard, "So did you like it?" I blinked and he went on, "I mean, even though she suffocated you and all... would you do it again?"  
  
Kensuke spoke up as I hesitated... making it far worse than before, "Yeah, do you still like her?"  
  
Now Asuka was leaning forward in her seat, studying me intently.  
  
"Yeah," I said finally, breaking eye contact, "Yeah, I still like her... and I would kiss her again... if she didn't pinch my nose..." I shook my head and focused on Asuka again, "but after that night... she always treated me like dirt. I don't think she would ever come near me again..."  
  
Asuka averted her eyes, her face once again unreadable.  
  
"Have you gone out with anyone since that?" Kensuke inquired.  
  
"Well," I said reluctantly, "as a Child, I don't... have a lot of time... for stuff like that..."  
  
"Oh," Touji said loudly, "to hell with that! We're going to find you a girlfriend!" He shook his head, "That's just wrong, man!" He looked up, catching Hikari's eyes, "Hey, class rep," he said brightly, "know any girls that would take pity on Shinji here and go out with him?"  
  
He wasn't being quiet, much to my horror, and lots of heads turned. I noticed Mitsuki Rara watching me thoughtfully, and I blushed deeply, trying to avoid her eyes.  
  
Before Hikari could even open her mouth, Asuka answered for her, "No," she said icily, "find your own tramps, stooge!"  
  
I stared at her, shocked at her vehemence, -What's THAT all about?- I wondered as they got up and left, their lunch apparently over.  
  
Touji grinned, "Don't worry," he said consolingly, "we'll find someone for you."  
  
I nodded and looked around, blushing as I noticed several girls giggling at me. -Great...- I thought dejectedly, -now I get to be laughed at... aren't I the lucky one?- As my eyes continued their journey around the room, they caught Mitsuki Rara's light brown ones.  
  
I froze as she smiled softly at me. Not laughing... not teasing... just smiling gently.  
  
I blushed deeper as one second turned into two... then three. -DO SOMETHING!- My mind screamed, and for the first time that I could remember... I listened.  
  
I smiled back at her holding, her eyes firmly the whole time.  
  
Finally, she broke eye contact when her sister slapped her arm, "Come ON!" the more caustic of the two said, "We have a lab experiment to work on, remember??"  
  
Mitsuki flushed a deep red and nodded, standing to leave. As she made her way out of the room, she turned back to me and smiled again... raising her hand in a tiny wave.  
  
I think I might have fainted if Touji hadn't yelled, "Go talk to her!"  
  
My head whipped around and my heart stopped... until I saw that he was talking to Kensuke - who looked absolutely miserable. Taking a brief second to thank my lucky stars that they had not witnessed the exchange, I said, "Talk to who?"  
  
Touji looked at me, shaking his head, "Try and stay current, Ikari... Aida here has a crush on the little blue-haired girl over there," he motioned with his head, not trying to be subtle, "and he refuses to go talk to her... even though she's a year younger."  
  
I looked at the girl he was referring to, finding her sitting with a small cluster of other thirteen year olds. I couldn't see her eyes, as her face was downcast, but she had a pretty face... and her hair was a deep blue, almost purple.  
  
"Touji, shut up!" Kensuke whispered fiercely, "She's shy... you'll make her nervous!"  
  
"If you won't talk to her, I will." Touji threatened, starting to rise.  
  
"NO!" Kensuke grabbed him and hauled him back down, exhibiting more strength than I knew he possessed.  
  
"Fine," Touji said, retaking his seat, "Shinji, you go talk to her for him."  
  
"What?" I said, surprised, "Me? Why?" I looked away, "I... I'm not good at talking to girls..."  
  
Touji shook his head, "Come on! You're doing it for him... he'll NEVER talk to her... besides," he added reasonably, "it's not like you have to ask her out, just find out if she has a boyfriend and stuff!" He pointed, "Now GO!"  
  
I rose reluctantly, "Kensuke..." I said, "do YOU want me to do this?" I prayed he would say no.  
  
He looked from me to the girl then back again, "Yeah..." he said, blushing, "would you, Shinji? Her name is Shinobu..." he added.  
  
I sighed deeply, "Just this once!" I said firmly, -I can't believe I'm doing this...- I thought.  
  
"You're a damn fine man!" Touji exclaimed. As I turned away, he said, "Oh, and good luck with Mitsuki, too..."  
  
-Damn...- I thought, refusing to turn back around and look at the smile I KNEW was on his face.  
  
I slowly walked over to where she was sitting, my stomach twisting in knots, -Come on...- I thought, -Touji's right... it's not like I'M asking her out...- This was SOME consolation... though not much. I was still about to talk to a pretty girl.  
  
"Umm... excuse me..." I said quietly, bowing as I reached the table and trying not to stop breathing as five pairs of eyes (none of them hers) came up to study me with great interest.  
  
All of the eyes widened as I said, "Shinobu? May I speak with you?"  
  
I think her breath froze (much like mine wanted to) and she slowly turned to look up at me, "Me?" She whispered, disbelievingly, "You want to talk... to me?"  
  
I nodded, suddenly hit by how similar she looked to Misato, -Bet that's it...- I thought, -that's why he likes her.-   
  
I realized I was kind of towering over her, since she was shorter than I was and she was sitting down.   
  
I dropped into a crouch so that my eyes were lower than hers, "I was wondering," I began slowly, trying to ignore her friends as they stared, open-mouthed, "are you seeing anyone, Shinobu?" I realized how it sounded a moment after the words left my mouth and she flushed a bright red, "Not for me..." I said quickly, "I... a friend of mine likes you..." I blushed myself, realizing that that ALSO sounded pretty forward. I decided to shut up and see how she replied.  
  
"I..." she dropped her eyes (also a deep shade of blue, I noticed before she averted them), "no... I'm not..." she whispered. "I... I've never been on a date..." she added timidly.  
  
"But she has kissed someone!" A friend of hers piped up.  
  
Shinobu's head came back up, a horrified expression on her face, "SUU!" She squeaked in a tiny little voice.  
  
Her friend went on with a big smile, "Yup! She kissed-"  
  
One of the other girls slapped a hand over Suu's mouth as Shinobu turned to me, her lip trembling, "I..." She tried to speak, then gave up and stared at the floor, embarrassed beyond the capacity for speech.  
  
"That's ok..." I said, "he won't hold that against you..." I smiled as her head come back up, a small smile gracing her lips. "Would you like to go out with my friend sometime?" I asked, feeling once again horribly awkward as I pointed Kensuke out to her.  
  
Kensuke waved timidly.  
  
"I..." her voice was unsure. One of her friends (the one muzzling Suu) tapped her on the shoulder and nodded. Shinobu flushed deeply, "Tell him I would like that..." she whispered.  
  
I repressed the sigh of relief, and smiled, "Ok... next time, he can talk to you himself." I said, feeling proud of myself.  
  
I sat back down with a deep sigh, "Next time..." I said, resting my head on the table, "ask your own girls out..." I closed my eyes, adding, "she said yes."  
  
Kensuke's shout of joy reverberated through the room. I was glad I had my eyes closed so I couldn't see the stares... though Touji told me later that Shinobu did turn a very interesting color. I sat up, meaning to tell him that this probably did not endear him to the girl, when my attention was diverted.  
  
Asuka came back into the cafeteria and strode up to our table, putting her hands down flat and speaking briskly, "All right, stooges, here's the deal: it's time to start paying up."  
  
Touji and Kensuke paled, as did several other nearby students who had been involved in the paintball fight... and had hoped (perhaps) that she had forgotten the bet.  
  
Touji swallowed, "Yeah, fine..." he said sullenly, "a bet's a bet... what do you want us to do?"  
  
Asuka smiled, "I'll cut you a deal, dufus," she said, leaning forward and offering me a nice view of her cleavage (I think I went slightly cross-eyed trying to meet her eyes and appreciate the view at the same time... not that I'm complaining, you understand), "instead of each and every one of you doing something for me," these had been the stakes of the bet... each member of the losing team would have to do something that the other team's captain demanded - without complaining, "I'll let you all off the hook - IF..."  
  
"If?" Touji prodded as she trailed off.  
  
Her eyes locked on mine... and she smiled wickedly, "If Shinji agrees to be my personal slave for an entire week."  
  
"DONE!" Twenty some-odd male voices cried in unison.  
  
"B-but!" I tried to protest, but Touji put his hand on my shoulder.  
  
"Come on man," he said reasonably, "don't be selfish! We'd do it for you!"  
  
Somehow, I doubted him.  
  
Asuka smiled wider, looking back to Touji, "And make no mistake..." she said so that everyone could hear, "I WILL make it hell on all of you..."  
  
Every eye in the cafeteria focused on me.  
  
It was the first time I'd ever wished for an angel attack... though my wish went unanswered. "Well, Third Child?" Asuka said focusing her full attention on me.   
  
I looked up into her eyes, a bit surprised at her quiet tone of voice. Something in those deep, crystal pools spoke of... kindness? No... reassurance. As the silence stretched, I could almost hear her whispering, 'I won't make it bad... I promise...'  
  
I nodded finally, my lips barely moving, "Ok..."  
  
Cheers and sighs of relief erupted around me. Asuka took her hands off of the table and turned away, "Don't stay at school too long, Third Child... I have some things I want you to do when you get home." She turned back to me, smiling broadly, "Understood?"  
  
I swallowed hard, "Yes... ma'am..." I said softly.  
  
"Don't worry," she said with a wink, "I won't be TOO hard on you..." she grabbed my cheek between her fingers and pinched firmly... though not so firmly that it actually hurt.  
  
She giggled as my eyes tried to come out of their sockets, leaving the room with a flip of her hair and a final look back over her shoulder... coupled with the strangest smile I had ever seen on her lips. I couldn't decide if it was sincerity or something else completely... but, oddly... it suited her very well... and I couldn't help smiling back.  
  
  
Continued...  
  
Author's notes: if the characters that were introduced in this chapter seem familiar, its just because they are from other Animes. One thing I noticed when I started writing a story about children in the Evangelion universe is that, well... there weren't that many actual CHILDREN shown. As a result, I had to borrow some from other shows to flesh things out. I'm too unoriginal to come up with my own character names :P. All Love Hina name spellings come from here: http://www.hinatasou.com/home.html. The Dual! Name spellings and other information come from the character biographies on the DVDs and from this web page: http://dualpta.tripod.com/char/index.html. (I chose the information on the web page for Mitsuki Rara over the DVD info, because the DVD has her being 21... and I thought she acted more like 17 - which the web page says - in the show). The Kare Kano Name spellings come from http://www.crosswinds.net/~sana_chan/index02.html.  
  
New Disclaimer: Gainax animation owns all rights to the characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Kareshi Kanojo No Jijou (sometimes abbreviated as Kare Kano). All rights to the characters from Dual! Parallel trouble adventure owned by AIC/Pioneer LDC (according to Ryoma's DVDs - and thanks to him for letting me borrow them). All rights to the characters from Love Hina owned by Ken Akamatsu (as near as I can tell from the web pages I've found). I take no credit for ANY of the characters in this story, and should the rightful owners of any of them ask that I remove this story, I will gladly do so rather than face legal action.  
  
Thanks to Ryoma for the excellent idea on the Mitsuki Sanada/Asuka interaction... hope I did it right. ;) and thanks to JobFaust for pre-reading and catching some mistakes.  
  
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com  



	5. He said, she said

Disclaimer: see end of chapter 4 for updated disclaimer.  
  
Children  
Part 5  
He said, she said  
By Random1377  
  
My heart was racing a mile a minute, "Kiss me, Ikari..." Rei whispered, leaning close to me, "I need it..."  
  
We were in my room, and it was late at night. How we got there, I honestly could not remember - nor did I truly care as her red eyes drifted closer to me. "Ayanami..." I breathed, "I... I need it, too..." I reached out and put my hands on the sides of her face, pulling her closer.   
  
Just before her lips met mine... my face met the floor. "Damn," I whispered, "what a time to wake up!"  
  
Of course it was a dream - what did you think? Like I could get Rei... whatever...  
  
I shook myself fully awake. "Shinji? Are you ok?" Misato's voice (sounding slightly slurred) came through my door.  
  
-She's started early today...- I thought with a frown. "Yeah," I said, getting off the floor and untangling my blankets, "I'm fine... just... slipped."  
  
I thought I heard Asuka chuckle, and I rolled my eyes, mumbling, "Glad I can offer some level of entertainment for you..."  
  
I pulled my school clothes on and went into the kitchen, opening the cabinets and gathering things to make lunch with. "Don't make me one," Asuka said, munching on a piece of toast (one of the few things either of them could - or would - cook if I was not awake), "I'm staying home today."  
  
I blinked, "How come?" I asked. I should have kept my mouth shut.  
  
"It's 'that time'," Misato said, a bit crankily, "for both of us."  
  
I swallowed, "I... see..." Now unless you've been around two women that share the same cycle every month - one of them carrying a gun... and the other being Asuka - you cannot appreciate the terror that seized me at that moment.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Asuka said, annoyed, "I swear, Third Child, you have no tact - NONE!"  
  
I nodded quickly, "You're right..." I said, "I... I'll just get lunch at school... bye!"  
  
I ran out the door before either could (kill) stop me.  
  
The walk to school without Asuka was odd. It was quiet (which I like) but lonely (which I don't) and it just felt... wrong. Things brightened as I caught sight of Kensuke and Touji rounding the corner about a block ahead of me, "Hey!" I called, "Wait up!!"  
  
As I ran up to them, Kensuke said, "Get a load of this!" In a most disapproving voice, "Mister Casanova here says he got a feel off of Miho!"  
  
I looked at Touji, who was smiling broadly. "Whatever..." I said dismissively, "that's about as likely as YOU getting a feel, 'suke."  
  
"Hey!!" He said indignantly, "That's just mean!" Touji just kept on smiling.  
  
I frowned at him, "You really did..." I said softly, noting that he wasn't saying anything - a sure, smug sign that he was not kidding.  
  
He nodded, smiling broader, "Yup... last night." I looked at Kensuke, who had obviously discarded the notion that this could be truth as quickly as I had, and quickly pressed for details.  
  
Touji grinned broadly, "We were at her place," he began, warming to the tale, "and we're making out on the couch... when suddenly she reaches down and pulls my hand up on puts it here," he grabbed Kensuke's chest, twisting sharply to the side.  
  
"Hey!!" The injured party exclaimed, slapping the offending hand away and rubbing his soon-to-be-bruised pectoral, "That hurt!!"  
  
Touji laughed, obviously still riding high, "Of course I didn't twist HERS," he said, stretching his hands up over his head, "but get what she told me..." we both leaned closer, Kensuke's flesh wound forgotten, "she said, 'Come over on Saturday and I'll lose the shirt.' No shit."  
  
I closed my eyes, remembering how Rei's breast had felt when I had fallen on her, wishing (not for the first time) that that moment had lasted just a little bit longer.  
  
"Lucky bastard..." Kensuke muttered enviously.  
  
"Maybe Shinobu will let you," Touji said, punching him in the shoulder and adding another bruise to the bespeckled boy's collection, "you guys are going out this weekend, right?"  
  
Kensuke moved around so I was between them, rubbing his shoulder, "Yeah, but she's... not that kind of girl..." he said with a small frown, "she's really shy. I called her after Shinji asked her out for me... and we 'talked' for about ten minutes." He frowned deeper, "I think she said five words."  
  
-Sounds like Rei...- I thought as we reached the school, little realizing just how much Rei could say if she was motivated to.  
  
**  
  
I found out exactly how verbose the First Child can be as the last bell rang. Usually, she stays at her desk, staring out the window until everyone had left. She surprised me as she stood quietly and walked to my desk. "Ikari," she said quietly, "there is something that I must ask you."  
  
I nodded, -Damn....- I thought, -I hoped she would forget about that 'I care for you' business...- I should keep my thoughts quiet... because it's always FAR worse than I think it's going to be.  
  
"What is 'doing it'?" Rei said calmly, ignoring the fact that ALL conversation around us stopped abruptly and every eye snapped in our direction... then she dropped an even bigger bomb, "And why was I not aware that we are 'doing it'?"  
  
Oddly, there was no eruption of laughter as I thought there MUST be... instead there was dead silence as I became the center of attention.  
  
I swallowed.  
  
"Rei?" I asked, "It's... not something people usually talk about in... in public." I swallowed again, looking around. I wanted to talk to her about it in private (actually, I didn't want to talk to her about THIS at all... and I would have paid anything not to have to do it there), but I knew that I had to stop this before it got further out of control.   
  
I sighed, trying my best to meet her eyes, "It means having sex, Rei..." I said softly.  
  
Rei tilted her head to the side, "We have not united yet," she said, sending a small shiver down my spin (it wasn't so much the word 'yet' as the way she spoke it... as if it was always a possibility), "I do not understand why the students are saying that we are."  
  
My mouth went dry and my eyes shot to Touji, fixing him with a glare. He raised his hands and said, "Hey, don't look at me! I didn't blow your secret!"  
  
I flushed, "There's NO SECRET!" I yelled, noticing that Rei blinked slightly in surprise.  
  
I put my head in my hands, wishing that the earth would swallow me up. "Ikari?" She said quietly.  
  
"Yes, Ayanami?" I replied, refusing to look up at her.  
  
Her silence forced me to raise my head. Once my eyes met hers she said softly, "I would not tell... if we did..."  
  
There was a collective gasp as she nodded slightly, just a bare incline of her head to show that she was serious, and walked coolly from the room.  
  
I took advantage of the stunned quiet to gather my things and beat a hasty retreat, my one saving grace being that Asuka had not been present... though that just meant that her finding out about this would be delayed until one of our 'well meaning' classmate got to a phone.  
  
As I walked out of the school, I heard Touji being called to the principal's office. "Good!" I mumbled, "Boob... serves him right for spreading rumors."  
  
I wouldn't find out until the next week exactly how wrong I was.  
  
**  
  
When I got home, Asuka was waiting for me... of course.  
  
"Hello, Third Child," she said, surprisingly calmly, "I heard that you and the First had a little talk today..."  
  
"Y-yeah..." I said softly, not able to meet her eyes, "Sorry..."  
  
She grinned broadly, "Sorry?" She repeated, "For what?" She shook her head, continuing before I had a chance to reply, "Come on, did you think anyone honestly believed that you and her were doing it? I mean, REALLY?"  
  
"W-what do you mean?" I asked, now entirely confused.  
  
"Puh-lease," she said, "the First Child has about as much sexual drive as a migrating sea sponge..." she laughed as my jaw dropped, "which leaves YOU to initiate it - and I think we both know the likely hood of THAT. Not that I would care if you did..."  
  
I flushed, trying to defend myself, "I... what if I did?"  
  
She laughed again, "You kill me, Shinji, you know that? You... hitting on Wondergirl... her... sleeping with you... oh, that's rich!!" She stepped closer to me, "Almost as rich as your little stooge friend thinking that he had anything at all to do with getting that Miho tramp to go out with him."  
  
I blinked, "Well..." I said, "I don't think she's THAT bad..."  
  
"Shinji," she said with a frown, "they call her the Black Widow."  
  
"Why?" I asked, confused, "Because she has black hair?"  
  
Asuka slapped me in the back of the head, "No, you idiot!" she yelled, "because of what she does to men! She uses them, then throws them away ...moron. Now, go clean my room!"  
  
"Go... what??" I asked, rubbing my head.  
  
"You heard me, slave..." she said with a wicked smile, "your first task is to clean my room - and don't go touching my underwear! ...pervert."  
  
I sighed, "Yes, ma'am..."  
  
She followed me into her room and flopped down on the bed with a contented sigh, "Just get to work," she said as I looked at her with a small frown, "did you think I was going to leave you alone in here??" She closed her eyes and put her hands behind her head.  
  
"Yes, ma'am..." I said again. For some reason, I knew that I would be saying that a lot for the next week.  
  
I cleaned her room... though it wasn't really that dirty. As I was finishing up, Asuka said, "You missed behind the bed."  
  
I stared at her closed eyes, waiting for her to move. When she didn't, I mumbled, "Fine..." and leaned over her to reach behind her bed.  
  
In that second, something... changed. Her breathing got short, and I looked up to find her eyes open and a faint blush on her cheeks. "Shinji..." she said softly, raising up on her elbows.  
  
I swallowed as I met her eyes, "Yes, Asuka?"  
  
I really don't know what would have happened, then, if Misato had not yelled, "I'm home!" at that precise second.  
  
What did happen is that Asuka's eyes widened and she suddenly leaned forward and shoved me backwards... hard.  
  
"Wha!" I cried, landing on a pile of her clothes and looking up with a dazed expression.  
  
Misato poked her head into the room, "What the hell was that??" She said, looking from me to Asuka and back again.  
  
"Shinji tripped again," Asuka said coolly, her hands once more behind her head, "he IS clumsy you know..."  
  
She looked at my gaping mouth skeptically, "Why was he in here in the first place?" She said with an arched eyebrow, "Something I should know?"  
  
Asuka was still flushed, "No..." she said firmly, her eyes meeting mine, "nothing at all..."  
  
I closed my mouth and averted my eyes as I got the unspoken message to shut up loud and clear.  
  
"I see..." Misato said softly, seeming to try and decide of a joke was warranted.  
  
I didn't give her the chance. "Asuka's right..." I said quietly, "I am clumsy..." I stood up and walked to the door, whispering as I left, "I guess I should know by now to watch my step around here..."  
  
I went to my room and closed the door... and tried to forget about Asuka Langley Souryu.  
  
Continued...  
  
Thanks to 20eva, Rhine, and Lord Deathscythe for pre reading on this chapter.  
  
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com  



	6. Girls are Evil

Disclaimer: see end of part 4.  
  
Children  
Part 6  
Girls are Evil  
By Random1377  
  
"WHY ME!?" I yelled, as the shelf collapsed, spilling cardboard boxes all over the floor.  
  
I looked around, praying that no one I knew was in the store... it was the only one of my prayers that was answered that day. Seeing no one, I quickly scooped up the boxes and shoved them back on the shelf, turning a color normally associated with roses.  
  
I grabbed a few more items while I was in the store (mostly to camouflage what I had tucked under my arm) and hurried to the front.  
  
-At least it can't get any worse...-I thought with a frown as I lay my items on the belt to get rung up.  
  
The girl at the cash register proved me wrong.  
  
"These yours?" she asked loudly, holding up the box of tampons, "Or maybe... your girlfriend's?"  
  
"I..." I swallowed, "My... roommate..." I mumbled, blushing. I thought she looked vaguely familiar, but she was too old to be in my class. -Maybe she's in Mitsuki's room,- I thought idly.  
  
She nodded, grinning widely, "Super absorbency, huh?" she asked, "Must be a bad month..."  
  
I flushed deeper, "I... I don't know..." I wished with all my heart and soul that she would hurry up... but she seemed inclined to lingering over this topic.  
  
"Hmmm..." she said thoughtfully, "I'm going to need a price-check on these, I think they're on sale..." before I could say I'd rather pay full price, she grabbed a microphone by her register and said, loudly, "hey, Tsukasa! Are the super-absorbency Tampax on sale this week? This young man needs to know!"  
  
I closed my eyes, thinking, -Oh God... I'm in Hell...- From the back of the store, a voice confirmed (also, loudly) that they were in fact on sale.  
  
"Just saved you forty-two cents," the girl said, smiling as I opened my eyes, "you're welcome."  
  
"Thanks..." I mumbled, handing her my NERV payment card. As soon as the transaction was complete, I grabbed the bag and started for the door, my head down.  
  
"Hey, Shinji..." she called after me, stopping me dead in my tracks.  
  
I didn't turn around... the tone in her voice was enough to let me know she was smiling, "Yeah?" I whispered, already beginning to suspect something.  
  
"Tell Asuka I'll be over around five, ok?" she said, barely containing a laugh.  
  
My shoulders slumped, "Yeah..." I repeated, feeling like a fool. Of course she looked familiar - she was one of Asuka's friends. I didn't know her name, offhand... but I knew that the evening would not be pleasant for me. -Well...- I thought, trying to stay optimistic, -at least I don't have to run any more errands...-  
  
I remembered Asuka's promise, 'Do this, and you're off the hook, Third Child...' she had said with a faint smile. I should have known it was a setup.  
  
I sighed and walked out, glad at least that Kensuke and Touji weren't there... they would've never let me live something like that down.  
  
My advice to you? Never think things can't get worse.  
  
"Hey! Shinji!!" Kensuke's voice reached me before I had gotten three blocks from the store.  
  
I looked around, catching sight of him and Touji coming the other way (most likely from the arcade that was a block up the street).  
  
"What's up, man?" Kensuke said, "The Devil still working you like a dog?"  
  
I paled, "Umm... no, actually..." I said, trying to make the bag in my hands seem smaller.   
  
"Hey," Kensuke said, quickly noticing my pathetic attempt to conceal, "what's in the ba-"  
  
"Touji," I blurted, desperate to take attention away, "how's Miho?"  
  
Touji's frown lightened, "She's good..." he said, looking relieved to have something to talk about besides whatever had been dragging him down lately.  
  
"Still going to her house every weekend?" I inquired, folding the top of the bag down twice, as discretely as I could.  
  
"Yeah," he said, now smiling, "in fact I was," his hand flashed out and snatched the bag before I could even think to stop him, "just going to go over there now. Whatcha got here?"  
  
"N-nothing!" I said, trying not to sound frantic... and get the bag back unopened.  
  
Remember what I said earlier about things getting worse?  
  
The bag was open before my hand closed the distance between myself and it, and an eerie silence descended as they peered in. After a moment, they looked up at me... then back into the bag, then back up at me again.  
  
Flushing, I stammered, "I... umm... I... that is... those are... I..."  
  
"Something you want to tell us, Shinji?" Touji said, arching an eyebrow. "Are there... changes in your future?"  
  
"Ya know..." Kensuke said to Touji thoughtfully, "girls are always saying they want to go out with a guy who could be their friend... maybe now that we're his friends..." he let the thought trail off.  
  
"You think he wants you or me?" Touji whispered, edging back from me, "And what will we call him after the Change? Shinjko?"  
  
"What if he wants both of us?" Kensuke replied, "You'd have to take 'her' on Tuesdays and Thursdays... we couldn't just ignore her..."  
  
"I've got a girl..." Touji said, smiling wider, "and what about that freshman you like?"  
  
Kensuke sighed a long-suffering sigh, "Well... a man's gotta make sacrifices for friendship..."  
  
"True... true..." Touji said, uttering a similar sigh, "but there is no way that I'm going to be 'her' first, I mean... that's just-"  
  
"I'm not getting a sex-change!!" I shouted, flushing brighter as an elderly couple stopped to stare at us.  
  
Touji and Kensuke both continued grinning... and suddenly I knew how to get out of the situation.  
  
I sighed, "Ok..." I said, defeated, "YOU go give them to Asuka."  
  
The smiles disappeared. "Asuka?" Kensuke repeated, looking down at the bag as if he'd just realized it had snakes in it.  
  
"Yeah," I said, turning away from them, "and thanks. She's in a REALLY bad mood, so I'm glad I don't have to be the one to-"  
  
"Here," Kensuke said, thrusting the bag back into my hands, "I just remembered that I have a homework assignment due on Monday..." he turned and walked off quickly before I could say a word.  
  
Touji slowly grinned at me, his voice becoming low and wise as he said, "Very clever, Ikari-san... you have learned well the ways of deception..."  
  
I returned his grin, "I wasn't kidding."  
  
Touji's smile fell away once more, "Ahem, well... I gotta get to Miho's... see ya."  
  
I sighed as he made his retreat, then continued on my way, trying to think how I could arrange to be gone when Asuka's friend arrived.  
  
Needless to say, I was destined to fail.  
  
**  
  
"Can you get the door?" Asuka called from her room, "I'm kinda busy..."  
  
I sighed, getting off the couch and heading for the door. -Why is it always at the GOOD scene??- I thought sorrowfully.  
  
"Hi, Shinji," the girl on the other side of the door said as I opened it, "how are ya?"  
  
I blinked. "I'm... ok, I guess..." I said cautiously. -How could I forget that she was coming?- I thought, wondering idly why she was being so polite.  
  
It was the homework. Kensuke wasn't kidding about the assignment, and I had just finished mine up - totally forgetting that she was coming.  
  
"Are... you going to let me in?" she asked after a moment, smiling faintly.  
  
"Ahh, of course!" I said, stepping aside, "Forgive my manners..."  
  
"Forget about it," she said with a wink, "I'll let it slide this time... because you're so cute."  
  
My eyes nearly came out of my sockets. "Ummm... thanks..." I said, "A-Asuka's... in her room."  
  
She nodded and headed that way (I didn't feel the need to show her the way... I figured she had been here before), and I headed back to finish watching my show.  
  
Note: from a purely tactical point of view - if you are ever in the presence of overwhelming opposition, it is perfectly acceptable to make a strategic withdrawal.  
  
Addendum to note above: Always know who your opponents are.  
  
I never was very good at tactics...  
  
"Anything good on?" Asuka said, coming in and sitting beside me on the couch. Before I could reply, her friend sat on the other side of me, flanking me. "I think you've met Mitsune Konno, right?"  
  
I looked from one to the other, feeling a vague sense of unease, "We... haven't been introduced yet..." I said, wondering if it was too late to make a break for it.  
  
It was.  
  
Mitsune put her leg across both of mine. "Asuka," she said causally, "can you see if you can fix that tear in my shoe like you said?"  
  
Had I not been pinned in place, I would have fell off the couch as Asuka leaned to the side and pulled out (I kid you not) a shoe repair kit.  
  
"Sure thing," Asuka said brightly, smiling, "by the way... thanks for that pointer on using the plastic applicators..."  
  
"Any time," Mitsune replied, "the cardboard ones chafe too much..."  
  
I'm not exactly a SLOW person... but it took me a moment to figure out what they were talking about. When I did... I jumped off the couch and ran from the room.  
  
Or at least, I would have if I wasn't confined.  
  
"I know!" Asuka said, starting (slowly) to mend the tear in the other girl's shoe, "And this month has been really heavy for me..."  
  
"Good thing you got the supers," Mitsune replied sagely as I tried my best to focus on the television, "nothing worse than messing up a perfectly good pair of panties."  
  
"I use pads too," Asuka said, trying to hide her grin at my discomfort, "only on the really heavy days..."  
  
I think I may very well have gone insane, had the phone not rung just then. "I'll get it!!" I all by cried.  
  
"No, no!" Asuka said quickly, "You stay here and talk to Mitsune, I'll get the phone..."   
  
I groaned as Mitsune put a (restraining) arm around my shoulder and said, "Oh, I'm sure Shinji and I can find SOMETHING to talk about..."  
  
Her grin warned me that I might not like the topic she chose.  
  
Asuka's echoing smile made it a practical guarantee. "Ok..." I said meekly, not really wanting to offend her (I wondered how father managed to get people to leave him alone... and made a mental note to buy some white gloves and sunglasses).  
  
"So Shinji," Mitsune said lightly, tightening her grip a bit to ensure I wouldn't bolt, "have you ever... gone all the way?"  
  
I will tell you right now that it was a good thing that she was strong, because my initial, instinctive response (RUN!!) kicked in, and I tried to stand.  
  
"Oh, you can tell me," she said soothingly, practically pinning me to the couch, "I won't tell anyone." Her voice become conspiratorial, "Have you and Asuka...?"  
  
"NO!!" I blurted, blushing bright red, "I... she... we..."  
  
Ironically, my reprieve came from the girl in question. "It's for you," Asuka said flatly, coming back into the living room.  
  
I sighed in relief and practically jumped off the couch as Mitsune released me (looking a bit disappointed, I thought), "Who is it?"  
  
"Find out for yourself," Asuka retorted coldly.  
  
I blinked... and Mitsune did too. "I'm... gonna go," she said, sensing the shift in her friend's mood, "call me later, Asuka. And Shinji..." she winked at me as she stood, "we'll finish this conversation another time..."  
  
She laughed with delight as I blushed again, and I went to answer the phone while Asuka showed her out, a deep scowl on the girl's face.  
  
"Hello?" I said hesitantly as I picked up the phone.   
  
It couldn't be Misato - Asuka wouldn't have been so mad. It couldn't be Kaji (for the same reason), or Touji, or Kensuke... or even Rei.  
  
To be honest, I had no idea WHO could upset Asuka that much.  
  
It became no clearer to me as a soft, decidedly feminine voice replied, "Shinji?"  
  
"Ummm... yeah?" I answered cautiously. -Who is this?- I thought, -another of Asuka's friends, helping her make my life into a bad Vanilla Sky remake?-  
  
After a pause, she said, "Hi, it's... Mitsuki Rara... how are you?"  
  
"Mitsuki?" I said, knowing I sounded shocked, "I... I'm fine... how are you?"  
  
"I'm... good," she said, sounding as nervous as I felt, "I was... wondering if you were going on the combined class trip tomorrow... to the water park?"  
  
Now, I don't know about you... but sometimes, a certain question hits me a certain way - and I just can't function. This would be a perfect example.  
  
"I... huh?" I replied, trying desperately to grasp WHY a senior would be calling me to ask if I was going on a trip.  
  
"You know," she replied, sounding slightly flustered, "the class trip... the entire school was invited..."   
  
I think she had maybe expected a simple yes or no... crazy girl, had she NEVER talked to a fourteen-year-old?  
  
"I... was thinking about it," I said, after a rather long pause (during which time I observed the Second Child stomping back to her room). Rei was scheduled to be on call at NERV, so I technically COULD go... and Touji and Kensuke would be there. Then again, so would Asuka - and right now, I wasn't too sure that spending a lot of time with her was such a hot idea.  
  
"I'm... going to be there..." Mitsuki said, sounding as if each word was forced out, "I'd... like to see you there... Shinji..."  
  
"You would?" I asked, stunned, "But, wh-"  
  
"I have to go," she cut me off, sounding reluctant, "my sister needs the phone. Goodbye Shinji, I hope I see you there." There was a soft click... and she was gone.  
  
I hung up the phone slowly, thinking about this turn of events.  
  
-Maybe today wasn't so bad,- I thought, trying to get my mind around the idea that a GIRL had just called ME.  
  
I went back into the living room to think things over. Several minutes later, Asuka came back in, wearing her swimsuit (now, I don't really need to say this... but I will anyway - Asuka, plus two-piece red and white swimsuit, equals: niiiiiice).  
  
"Does this still fit me?" she asked, sounding as if the last twenty minutes never happened as she turned around slowly, "I'm afraid I might have put on a couple pounds since I wore it last... what do you think?"  
  
I'm pretty sure my initial reply was something along the lines of 'Der...' and was accompanied by a large quantity of saliva. Once I had regained my composure, I averted my eyes, "It umm... looks fine..." I mumbled, hoping she didn't see the flush on my cheeks.  
  
"Such a boring little boy..." she whispered, sounding disappointed. "Are you going tomorrow, or do I only have to deal with two of the three stooges?"  
  
"No," I said, making up my mind, "I'll be there."  
  
Now, I THINK she may have smiled... but that could have been a trick of the light, and she DID turn away pretty fast. "Great," she sighed, walking towards her room, "more immature boys to ogle me."  
  
She walked into her room and shut the door, my eyes following her - discreetly - every step of the way.  
  
"Shinji..." she said after a moment.  
  
"Yeah?" I replied  
  
I could tell by her tone that she was smiling, "You can close your mouth now..."  
  
I did as I was told, blushing as I thought that tomorrow could prove to be just as bad as today.  
  
Thankfully, I couldn't have been more wrong... and the next day proved to be one of the best of my life.  
  
Continued...  
  
Author's notes: Yes, yes... I know... I'll try and work faster.  
  
Thanks to 20Eva, Lord Deathscythe, and especially Rhine for pre-reading on this one.  
  
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com 


	7. Falling

Disclaimer: see part 4

Children

Part 7

Falling

By Random1377

"You know something?" Kensuke asked, grinning broadly, "Some days it's good to be alive!"

I just nodded, blushing deeply and wondering how he could find it in himself to speak where there was _so much_ to look at!

"Hey Shinji," Touji said casually, "let me make an introduction for you. Shinji: breasts, breasts: Shinji. Now that you're on speaking terms you can stop staring, eh?" He laughed as I dropped my eyes from where they had been observing an attractive young lady's… ummm… bathing suit.

-How does he do that??- I thought, -I was subtle… wasn't I?-

The Tokyo-3 waterpark (imaginative name, isn't it?) was filled with the contents of our school. From eighth to twelfth grade, just about everyone had turned out for the trip, not wanting to miss the opportunity to laugh and play and… well, ogle, I guess…

I opened my mouth to point out that not everyone had a hot, aggressively sexual girlfriend with which to familiarize themselves with that particular, enticing portion of the female anatomy… but Touji was once again staring off into space.

"What's up with him?" Kensuke whispered, holding me back while Touji walked on, unaware that he was no long in our company, "He's been all spacey for like, four days now…"

"I don't know," I admitted, "it started when he got called to the principal's office… maybe he got in more trouble than we thought?"

"Oh please," the boy retorted, pushing his glasses up on his nose, "like he cares about a little school trouble – do you even _know_ him, man?"

I shrugged. "I… think I do, but I-"

"You know what a rhetorical question is?" Kensuke cut me off, shaking his head sadly, "Man, Shinji… I thought Ayanami was bad…"

The mention of the blue-haired girl's name brought me up short.

I was still trying to work out what exactly I felt for her. She was pretty, and really smart – even if she was awfully quiet.

Did I love her, you ask? Well… you're definitely asking the wrong guy. Did I care about her? Yes, that I can say without question, but at that time I couldn't tell you what exactly love was. I think I liked the _idea_ of being in love… but if I loved _her_ is something I would have had to have sat down and thought about for a good many hours before being able to give you a straight answer.

Fourteen's a confusing age, you know?

"Hey, Shiiiiiiiiinnnnnjiiiiiii…" Asuka's voice made thoughts of Rei impossible.

Why? Well… you know how fingernails on a chalkboard sound?

This was nothing like that.

I swallowed. "H-hi…" I managed to get out, trying my best not to stare as the redhead approached our position, her friend Hikari in tow.

"Hi Touji," the brown-haired girl said casually, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Hey," Touji replied absently, looking around the park. "I'll see you guys later," he said abruptly, "Miho said she'd be here, so I'm gonna go find her…"

I nodded, reminding him that we need to meet for lunch.

"Like he'd miss a meal," Kensuke said dryly, after Touji was out of earshot, "did you forget who you're talking to?"

"Like you said," I pointed out, "he's been kinda out of it."

"It's because of that tramp he's dating," Hikari said darkly, unaware that her right hand had clenched into a fist, "he should break up with her."

Asuka leaned forward and whispered something into her friend's ear.

Now, I don't know what it was, exactly, but Hikari paled slightly and muttered, "Shut up…"

Girls are weird.

"So Shinji," Asuka said, turning her attention to me, "how does it feel to be here with the cutest girl in school?"

Kensuke laughed out loud as I looked around in confusion.

"So dense…" Asuka sighed, "anyway, this place looks like fun…" she smiled broadly, "too bad Wondergirl had to stay home…"

"Yeah," I said, not really catching the sarcasm in her tone, "she'd love it here… she really likes swimming, and-" I cut myself off as I found Asuka glaring at me.

"Idiot…" she muttered, "come on Hikari… let's go…"

As the Second Child stormed off, dragging her friend behind her, Kensuke shook his head, "Damn, man… you have _no_ idea how to talk to women…"

I grimaced. "I don't know what to do about her sometimes…" I said, following the redhead with my eyes as she was swallowed by the crowd, "sometimes she's so nice, and then-"

"Don't buy it," Kensuke cut me off, folding his arms, "and don't even waste your time trying to convince me – she's cold, man."

"N-not all the time," I stammered, momentarily distracted by a two-piece bikini that I was certain was no larger than five inches – total, "sometimes she's quiet, and thoughtful, and… what, why are you looking at me like that?"

Kensuke was smiling wolfishly. "You wanna tell me about it?" he asked with a wink, "Or do I need to start singing, 'Shinji's got a girlfriend'?"

I blushed (something I find that I do a lot), and shook my head. "It's not like that," I mumbled, "she's just… she's not as bad as you think."

"Uh huh…" Kensuke grinned, "next you'll tell me that Mitsuki doesn't like you at all…"

My blush deepened. "I… she's a senior," I pointed out, "she's cute… but I don't think she would ever-"

"Hi Shinji…"

I think I actually bit my own tongue at that point… and I think Kensuke actually turned blue from laughing so hard.

"Ummm… Hi, Mitsuki…" I said timidly, wondering how much she had heard… and knowing that she had heard it all. –Thanks, Kensuke…- I thought darkly, -appreciate you helping me look like a fool, because you know, I can't do that well enough on my own…-

"I'm glad you could make it," Mitsuki said quietly, crushing Kensuke's laughter like a cicada crushed under a boot heel.

"I'm… glad I could too," I stuttered, committing her conservative, blue one-piece suit to memory before tearing my eyes away.

"Maybe I'll see you around later," she said with a smile, heading off to rejoin her group.

"Yeah," I breathed, "I'd like that…"

"Nothing going on…" Kensuke said scornfully, "I should have known! You and Touji have all the luck!"

"Kensuke?"

It was Kensuke's turn to blush. "Shinobu!" he exclaimed, turning to find the younger girl standing behind him, blushing almost as brightly as him, "I… didn't think you were coming."

"I… wanted to see you," Shinobu replied, unable to meet his eyes.

The foolish grin that lit up his freckled face would have made even the harshest skeptic reconsider their decision that love was dead. Not that I'm not saying they were in love, you understand… but in my opinion, they were well on their way.

"I'll catch up with you later," I said gently, smiling as Kensuke just nodded, never taking his eyes off of the girl in front of him.

I moved off into the park, fully prepared to spend the day entirely alone.

Ahh, it's nice when life catches you unprepared…

**

I sighed as I sat down on the cool rocks.

"I don't understand girls…" I muttered to myself.

Looking around the small alcove I had slipped into, I shook my head, wondering why Asuka was teasing me like she was. 

Did it ever enter my mind that she might be serious? No… not for a second. Every time that notion tried to surface, the image of her running to the bathroom to brush after our one kiss would immediately squash it.

"Once is bad enough," I whispered to myself, "but does she have to keep _leaning_ like that?"

The current count of the times Asuka had leaned over me, brushed up against me, said something provocative, or brought attention to her bathing suit, was… well, let's just say you can't count that high without taking off your shoes.

And I couldn't understand why. It seemed like she was going out of her way to make me uncomfortable, because whenever I complimented her, smiled at her, or in any other way responded to what she was doing… she immediately backed off.

Not that I responded very often, you understand… but I think I smiled twice and complimented her suit once – which was hard enough, considering how difficult it was for me even being there.

Think about it, if you couldn't swim, would _you_ want to spend the whole day around water?

-I'll never understand her…- I thought bleakly, -it's like she's trying to get me to hit on her, but I know she doesn't want that…- "God, just leave me alone…" I muttered, putting my head in my hands.

"I… ok…" a soft voice replied.

My head shot up, and I found Mitsuki turning to leave. –Didn't I see this in a movie?- I thought, suppressing the urge to laugh… because it would have come out as insane, since I was suddenly all keyed up. 

"No!" I said quickly, getting to my feet too fast and hitting my head on the low cave ceiling, "I wasn't talking to you," I said, rubbing my head ruefully as I sat back down, "I was just talking to myself… I do that sometimes… sorry…"

"Ummm… ok…" the brown-haired girl said, turning back to face me, "I just thought maybe you wanted to be alone… I'm sorry I followed you in here…"

"It's alright," I said quietly, "I just wanted to get away from everyone for a few minutes… I don't like big crowds…"

"Me either," Mitsuki said, folding her arms. "Can I have a seat?"

"O-of course…" I stammered, sliding to the side to make room for her.

She sat down beside me, blushing slightly. "I don't… normally do this…" she said after a moment of silence, "follow boys around, I mean."

I blinked, not really knowing what to say. –She was following me?- I thought, -Is there a hit out on me that I don't know about, or something?- it was about the only logical explanation I could come up with.

"Were you going for the James Dean look?" she asked, gesturing to my tee-shirt.

"James who?" I asked, confused.

"He was a… oh, never mind…" she laughed, waving a hand.

An awkward silence fell.

"Hey Shinji…" Mitsuki said abruptly, "do you… have a girlfriend?"

I just gaped at her for a minute. "N-no…" I finally managed to get out, aware that almost a full minute had passed since she had spoken, "no, I don't…"

My breath left me as she laid her hand over mine. "Shinji…" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the waterfall the small cave was located behind, "will you be my boyfriend?"

If there was a prize for 'best shocked look,' I'm sure I would have won hands down. "W-why?" I managed, "You're a senior… you could have any guy you wanted… why me? You hardly know me…"

She averted her eyes. "Ummm… this might sound bad," she said quietly, "but I don't really know." She smiled, "I know that you're really nice with your friends… and I know that you're really cute…" she shrugged, "and three years isn't so much – my dad is more than ten years older than my mom."

I considered this. My father was also quite a bit older than mother when they got married… but it wasn't so much that she was older, it was that she was interested at all.

My confusion must have shown, because she smiled, gently turning my hand over so she could lace her fingers with mine.

"I like you, Shinji…" she whispered, ignoring the water crashing all around us as she met my gaze intently, "I never really stopped to think about why…"

"I…" my mouth was dry as a bone, "I like you, too…" I managed to get out, feeling my face grow hot.

The smile she gave me made all of my discomfort seem completely unimportant.

Slowly, she leaned towards me, trying to say something more… but finally giving up. Gently, she put her hands on my sunburned shoulders (my shirt was torn from where Touji had tried to strip me of it) and pulled me close to her. I might have winced at the touch... had she not pressed her warm lips against mine

Unlike the kiss I'd shared with Asuka, this was soft… and gentle… and asphyxiation-free. I expected her to pull away after a minute (aren't first kisses supposed to be short?), but instead she just moved her hands from my shoulders to my sides and leaned closer, her damp hair brushing my skin.

When she finally did break away, she was flushed and her eyes were half closed. "Mmmm," she whispered, "that was nice. Thank you, Shinji…"

I blinked, "For what?" I wondered, thinking that I should be the one to thank her.

She blushed, "For not… trying to touch me, I guess…" her eyes met mine, "I've… only kissed two boys before… and they both wanted to touch me," she pointed to her chest, "here."

While I couldn't blame anyone for wanting to touch such a fabulous body, I could not approve of such a sweet person being taken advantage of. It made me sick.

"That's why I like you," she continued quietly, "because you're not like other guys. " Her hand came up and stroked my cheek, "You're sweet, and kind, and gentle…" she leaned forward, "and a great kisser…"

We stayed under the waterfall for over an hour, just talking and kissing and holding hands. When we finally parted… I was her boyfriend (I hesitate to say that she was mine… at the time If felt that would be a touch bold), and she had elicited a promise from me to call her every day.

I waved as she headed back to her group, idly wondering why Asuka looked so upset… but for the first time in a long time, not truly caring what was running through the redhead's mind.

It was one of the brightest, happiest times of my life, and I'll never forget it.

Of course it couldn't last…

Continued…

Author's notes: ((insert standard 'Geez, this chapter took a long time, I'm really sorry,' note here)). About Hikari obviously liking Touji, and Shinji's lack of noticing this fact. Well, what can I say? It's pointed out in ep 17 that boys are dense, and you know something? We are. ^_~ It's hard for young men to pick up on the signals of attraction – especially at that age… and considering his background, Shinji's got more of a challenge than most, as evidenced by how bold Mitsuki had to get before he even noticed that she was interested. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, and before you get too worried that's it growing too WAFFy… just sit tight for the next few chapters, and remember that I posted this as Drama, not Romance.

Big thanks goes to Rhine on this one for pre-reading and making some damn fine suggestions!

Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com


	8. Sticks and Stones

Disclaimer: see part 4

Children

Part 8

Sticks and Stones

By Random1377

So after that, everything was smooth sailing. The angels stopped attacking, Mistuki and I got married, my father apologized for being so cold to me, and Asuka finally stopped teasing me every day.

Basically, life was perfect!

Ok… it was the Asuka bit that tipped my hand, wasn't it? I thought the part about my father was the most 'creative,' but let's face it… I'm a lousy liar.

Anyway, things _were_ fairly pleasant for about a week or so. I actually did get to see Mitsuki quite a bit more than I thought I would, which was very nice indeed. At first I had kinda thought I wouldn't see her very much, since we had both agreed to keep our relationship kinda low profile (I'll tell you why in a minute) but she constantly surprised me by popping up at the most unexpected times.

For example, one afternoon I was on my way out to eat lunch on the grass, talking to Kensuke and an even more down than usual Touji, when I spotted Mitsuki coming down the hall in our direction.

Not wanting to make a fuss, I stole a glance at my two friends, who were talking animatedly amongst themselves about a movie I hadn't seen, and smiled briefly at her, kinda waving with the hand that was on the far side of Kensuke.

As she neared us, she sort of… I don't even really know how to describe it. Slowed, I guess. I mean, she was walking at a normal pace, but as she got close to me, she almost went into slow motion, taking twice as long to pass me as she normally would have. She stepped past me, and her hand grazed mine, just a little touch, and she smiled softly. Then she was gone, resuming her original speed and walking off down the hall, never once looking back.

There were a lot of these little 'encounters,' mostly initiated by her. I would see her in the library, or in the halls, or heading into the gym… and each time, she would manage to sneak a little touch. It was never anything so grand as a kiss, but always at least a light brush of her fingertips, or an 'accidental' bumping of her arm and mine.

Now don't get me wrong – whenever we had a little time together we _did_ kiss… a little (it was kinda hard for both of us to open up like that) and talk, and laugh, and smile, and do all those things that children who are dating do. Unfortunately, those times were kinda scarce, since we were both busy with school and stuff, so the little touches that she gave me when no one was looking are what I remember the most.

Anyway, I promised to tell you why we had decided to keep our romance under wraps.

One reason was Asuka (and to a lesser extent, Rei), as I wasn't really sure what I felt for her, or what she felt for me… and I didn't want to upset her, as I had seen the way she had glared at me when she had caught me looking at Mitsuki in the halls one day. 

The primary reason on _her _end… was named Mitsuki Sanada.

The day after the trip to the water park, the girl had cornered me in the boy's bathroom. Yes, you heard me right – the _boy's_ bathroom. She just marched right in and crossed her arms, staring at me as I dried my hands.

You'll never know how thankful I am that she didn't come in two minutes earlier. I think I might have died of embarrassment if she had wandered in while I was actually _using_ the bathroom.

'I saw you with my sister yesterday,' she'd said without bothering with words like 'hello,' or, 'hey,' 'I don't know what you were doing,' she'd gone on, 'but if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from her.'

I had blinked and stammered something to the effect that I didn't know what she was talking about (see above comment regarding lying) and had reached for another paper towel.

The more temperamental of the Mitsukis had grabbed my hand, spinning me back around to face her. 'She's too good for you, Ikari,' she'd said coldly, 'and you're too weak to protect her. I won't see her get her heart broken by some loser like you – do you understand?'

Now in the movies, this is the part where the guy draws himself up to his full height and proclaims, 'I _am_ strong enough! I'll show _you!_' or something grand like that – usually shaking his fist. 

Do I even need to say it? Yeah… this isn't the movies.

'Yes, ma'am…' I'd replied weakly, my shoulders slumped in defeat.

So as you can see, we felt that keeping it just between us would be beneficial.

All that aside, life was pretty good. I was dating a very pretty, very sweet girl, and it had been weeks since the last angel attack. Plus, I _think_ I was starting to get a little bit of a better grasp on my feelings for Rei… maybe.

But it's hard being a child, with or without the capitol C, and life always finds interesting little ways to throw you a curve.

**

"You gotta admit he's been weird lately," Kensuke said absently, "all dejected looking and stuff."

It was a sunny Thursday afternoon, and we were standing by one of the many lookouts that ringed the city… just enjoying the fresh air and warm weather fashions (one upside to a permanent summer). We had been talking about our schoolwork when the topic of Touji had come up. "Maybe he's just feeling down," I said with a shrug, "It happens to everyone…"

"He's been moping for over a week," Kensuke pointed out, producing a candy bar from his shirt pocket. His pocket, by the way, was a never-ending source of fascination for me. I'm certain that it contained several government secrets, and possibly the body of the first Pharaoh of Egypt. "I think he got dumped."

I shook my head. "No…" I said thoughtfully, "he was with Miho at the water park, and he started getting crabby before that…" 

"You should talk to him," the spectacled boy said decisively, unwrapping the chocolate with methodical care… and narrowed eyes as he caught my interested gaze, "you're good with people."

Of all the gin joints – wait, sorry. Of all the things I'd been accused of in my life, being good with people was certainly one that didn't get a lot of playtime. "You've known him longer," I pointed out, "shouldn't you talk to him?"

Kensuke glared at me. "I talked to him last time, remember?"

"I hardly think getting his input on which restaurant to go to qualifies as 'talking to him.'" I sighed, realizing this was getting us nowhere, "How's Shinobu?"

"She's… good," Kensuke said after a moment of hesitation, "really shy… kinda hard to talk to…" he shrugged, smiling as he looked out over the city, "but man… it's worth it. She's so sweet."

I smiled too, biting my lip to keep from saying, 'I know what you mean, believe me!' – and secretly thankful that he didn't compare her to the bar of chocolate. I looked at my watch, "I gotta go," I said as casually as I could.

Kensuke nodded, eyeing the confection in his hand with an almost unhealthy smile. "Don't forget we're going to the arcade on Saturday."

"I know, I know…" I sighed, "see ya."

He raised a hand, waving it absently

I walked away, looking back every once in a while to make sure he wasn't watching. Convinced that he was still preoccupied with his chocolatey companion, I broke into a run, my smile widening with every block I put behind me, until I thought my head might split in two by the time I reached the small park three miles away.

"Sorry… I'm… late…" I wheezed, dropping to my knees in front of the girl waiting on the park bench.

"It's ok," Mitsuki said softly, patting the bench at her side, "you're worth waiting for…"

Now, I don't know how I can describe what it feels like for someone like me to hear something like that. I'd always read about people's chests puffing up when they're proud, or happy, or whatever, but I never really got it before I started dating her.

Sitting next to her, I slipped my hand timidly into hers. "Been here long?" I asked quietly, blushing a bit just from her proximity.

She shook her head. "Hmm mmm…" she hummed, clasping my hand gently, "just a few minutes." Looking around, she sighed softly. "This place is beautiful," she whispered, closing her eyes, "thank you for showing it to me, Shinji…"

My blush deepened. "It's… easier to look at if you open your eyes," I pointed out quietly.

Mitsuki opened her gorgeous eyes and turned to me, squeezing my hand gently as she leaned closer to me, hesitantly kissing me before pulling away again and averting her eyes as if embarrassed.

Sounds almost perfect, doesn't it? Well, I won't lie… it was pretty good. Hah! Did I say that? I'll stop being modest now – it _was_ perfect. 

Now… can I describe the feeling of her kissing me? Well, I'm sure you've been kissed before (or if you haven't, hopefully you soon will be) so you know the actual _physical_ feel of it. But for me to describe how it made me feel to be kissed by _her_ at that point in my life, when it seemed as if no one cared for me at all… I think it would be easier to define what Heaven is.

We spent some part of the afternoon simply sitting there, letting time just slip away from us and holding hands until Mitsuki sighed and laid her head on my shoulder. "Every day should be like this," she said softly.

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I nodded. "Yeah," I replied, oh-so-eloquently, "you're right…"

"Shinji," she said softly, looking into my face carefully, "do you get scared when you pilot your robot?"

I swallowed. "Do we… have to talk about that?" I asked, my voice holding a touch more whine than I'd intended, "It's so pretty today… do we have to talk about that?"

"We don't have to," she said, kissing the back of my hand, "but I thought you might like to." She ran the ball of her thumb over the back of my hand gently, "I want to hear anything you have to say, Shinji… I…" she swallowed, her tone indicating that she didn't _want_ to say what she was about to say, but felt as if she needed to. "You always look so sad, honey…" she whispered sorrowfully, "I want to help you. I'm your girlfriend now, I should be able to make you happy…"

"Maybe another day, ok?" I said quietly, unable to look at her, "Today can we just… talk about something else?"

She smiled, stealing my breath away with her beauty. "Anything you want," she whispered.

I could tell by her tone, and the sad look in her eyes, that she knew it was something I would never want to talk about… she was far more intuitive than anyone I've met. "Thanks…" I said.

"I want to go out tomorrow night, ok?" she asked gently, "Maybe a movie or something… I just want to do something with you without sneaking around."

I smiled weakly. "Your sister-" I began.

"I'll worry about her," Mitsuki cut me off with a smile, "she's mostly just talk…"

Unbidden, the old grade school rhyme about words never hurting popped into my mind… reminding me that kids don't know very much.

Mitsuki blushed, dropping her eyes as she went on, "I don't want to like, make an announcement, or post something on the blackboard…" she whispered, "but when we're not at school, I want to be close to you, and do things with you. Know what I mean?"

I blushed too (yes, yes… I know – it's something I do a lot), nodding slowly. 

"Ok…"

I won't bore you by recounting the rest of our time together that day. Suffice it to say there was a lot of holding hands, a bit of kissing, and lots of blushing, awkwardness, and sappy comments traded back and forth – and you know something? Even though half of what we were saying was cornier than the corniest romance movie… it still felt good. There's a reason romance movies make money. Know what I'm saying?

Anyway, not everything in my life was sunshine and roses – even not counting EVA… and the following day would remind me of what it means to be a friend, and how hard it is not to run away.

**

Before I go any further, let me remind you that Touji is one of my best friends. Overall, he's a pretty good guy – maybe a bit headstrong, but not so much that he does things he regrets.

Well… too often.

"Hey Touji!" I called, finally finding the tracksuit-clad boy on the roof of the school, "I've been looking all over for you!" I was fairly out of breath, having scoured the building for him, "I was wondering if you could take my cleanup duty today, I've… got a sync test."

I didn't really like lying to him… but Mitsuki and I had agreed not to tell any of our friends. Besides, he would have made fun of me. Sure, it's not really a good excuse… but it's true.

"Yeah, sure," Touji replied, "is it time now?"

Frowning slightly, I stepped closer to him. _Kensuke's right,_ I thought, _someone should talk to him._ I sighed, wishing that it didn't have to be me. _I mustn't run away…_

"Anything wrong?" I asked tentatively.

"Oh, hey man!" Touji said suddenly, "Thought you were Kensuke. No, nothing's wrong! Everything's great!"

I blinked, pondering telling him that Kensuke didn't have sync tests. Remember when I said I was a terrible liar? Well, Touji's worse than I am. "Come on…" I said quietly, glad that no one was around to hear me, "you can tell me… I'm your friend."

"Really!" he insisted, "It's all going great!" He leaned closer, "Wanna know a secret?" he waited until I nodded before whispering, "I did it with Miho… at the water park…"

As my jaw dropped, he laughed. "W-where?" I asked, trying to decide if his laugh was amused, proud... or bitter.

He laughed harder. "Behind the… the waterfall."

The next two minutes or so will live in my mind as a little tiny slice of hell on earth, as Touji explained (through near-hysterical laughter) that he and Miho had been further back in the cave, quietly making out when I came in. "We were gonna say something," he laughed, "but… we couldn't find her bikini top!"

I blushed as he went on. "Then Mitsuki came in… and you guys got all mushy…" he sobered slightly, putting his hand on my shoulder for support, "oh man… don't worry, your secret's safe with me… but we couldn't move…"

"Did you… do it while we were there??" I asked incredulously. _Mitsuki would just die!_ I thought.

His laughter faded a bit as he caught his breath. "No… well, kinda." Seeing my confusion, he elaborated, explaining that they had been just making out when we got there, but the longer they hid… the more antsy Miho got – until finally she had started slipping his swimsuit off, whispering for him to stay quiet.

"So you actually had sex…" I whispered wonderingly.

"Yeah," he said, still smiling, though no longer laughing outright, "right after you left – she was too loud for us to do it when you were there."

I think… at that moment… my face was redder than it had ever been before in my life. "I, umm, well…" I stammered for a moment, torn between thanking him for not embarrassing us (because I knew _he_ wouldn't have been embarrassed) and asking how it was. Finally, my curiosity won out.

He frowned, looking away from me. "It… wasn't like I thought," he said softly. I won't tell you all the things he said, but suffice it to say that when he was done, my face was hot enough to ignite paper. "So are you and Mitsuki doing it yet?" he asked after he was done.

"N-no…" I managed, "we just barely started going out and she's-" I broke off before, 'not that kind of girl,' could escape my lips.

Touji knew what I was about to say, of course, but he chose not to comment, instead smiling faintly. "She's really nice, Shinji… I'm happy for you…"

I looked at him closely, taking note of the sad expression on his face, and the slightly envious tone in his voice… and – as God is my witness – I was struck with insight. "You broke up with her, didn't you?" I asked softly.

He looked started, then laughed. "Why do you think…" he trailed off, averting his gaze. "No," he said after a moment, his voice barely audible, "she broke up with me… three days ago…"

"What happened?" I said, dumbfounded.

He shrugged, forcing a smile. "Don't know… she won't return my calls." He laughed, his voice sounding incredibly hollow, "But hey! No big deal, right? Plenty of girls out there… plenty of 'em…"

I nodded awkwardly unsure of how to reply to the sadness in his voice. "Yeah…" I agreed, "sure…"

"You should get to your test," he said after an awkward silence, "you'll be late…"

I looked at my watch. "Damn…" I whispered, "I can cancel if…" I trailed off, knowing I was trapped by my own words.

"Yeah, I don't think that's something you can just call in on, Shinji," he said dryly, "go on… do your duty, Child… I'll handle the cleanup for you…"

I nodded reluctantly. _He won't talk about this again,_ I thought suddenly, _he's 'Touji the tough guy' again._ I walked away, looking back as I reached the door leading back into the building. Touji was once again looking out over the city, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I was still there.

Cursing myself for lying, I slipped quietly out the door, heading out to meet Mitsuki for our date… and wondering if I would be able to enjoy myself, knowing that my friend was in pain…

Continued…

Author's notes: ok, I'm trying to ease back on the darkness here. Chapter 7 had some strong hints of future angst, and upon much deliberation (and a sound smacking from my pre-reader) I decided to get past myself and continue with the original intent of the story, which was to show the Children as children. Don't get me wrong, there'll still be conflict and angst… just not on the level I had planned (and believe me… I had some heaviness planned), so sit back and relax… 'cause we're back on track. ^_^

Huge pre-read thanks going out to Rhine on this one for helping me see that the path I had chosen really wasn't the best path for this story. Thanks man…

Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com


	9. Friend in Need

Disclaimer: see part 4

Children

Part 9

Friend in Need

By Random1377

"Hey! Shinji!! OVER HERE!!!"

I blushed as Mistuki's slender arm raised up out of the line of moviegoers and waved emphatically. "Coming!" I replied, hurrying over to her and stepping in next to her as quickly as I could, trying to avoid eye-contact with the many curious onlookers.

As I stared at my feet, Mitsuki giggled, slipping her hand into mine. "I've been looking for anyone we know," she said with a grin, squeezing my hand, "it's ok, there's no one around."

She laughed again as I let out a relieved sigh.

Neither of us were quite ready to have out relationship public knowledge just yet. Hell, I hadn't even told Touji or Kensuke, though I think Touji suspected something, since he would heckle me mercilessly anytime Mitsuki glanced my way for more than two seconds. I figured I would have to give soon, and I had discussed it with Mitsuki when we had finalized our plans to see the movie the day before.

"Well," she had said quietly, "the summer festival is coming up soon…" her voice had grown small, and slightly timid, "I think… we'll kinda have to tell people about it then, since we'll be together there…"

I had blushed, grinned, and stammered, "Y-yeah…" all at the same time.

"I heard this one is really romantic," she said as we stood in line, stepping a bit closer to me, "thanks for letting me choose, Shinji… you can pick the next one, ok?"

I nodded, feeling a bit more comfortable as I looked around once more, deciding that there really wasn't anyone from either of our classes around. Of course, we had chosen a theatre on the far side of town for just that reason. I decided that at least ONE aspect of having our relationship being public knowledge would be good – I wouldn't have to ride so far to go on dates.

As we waited in line, I thought briefly of Rei. It had been a few days since I had said more than hello to her, but oddly – this was not comforting. The last time we had spoken, she had been asking strange questions, like, 'If we were not pilots, would you still speak to me?' and, 'Would it be acceptable if I spoke to you outside of school?'

The fact that she had been keeping to 'Hello' lately only made me more edgy, as she seemed to be making up for her lack of words with constant, thoughtful observation.

No good could come of it.

"I can pay for myself," Mitsuki said, blushing as I stepped in front of her, "you don't have to always pay…"

I shrugged as I pushed the bills through the small opening to the cashier. "I like to," I said awkwardly, taking our tickets and heading into the theatre, "you want a drink or something?"

When she made no reply, I turned to her, blinking as I found her blushing bright red. "I'd love one," she said quietly, impossibly growing redder as she added, "but you have to… let me pay you back…"

I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but I never got the chance. Before I could stop her (or she could stop herself, I guess) she leaned forward and kissed me, just a really quick peck on the lips, and stepped back.

"I'll… pay the rest back later…" she said, looking around at the few people that were watching, "ok?"

"Ok," I said, grinning hugely.

"I'll get some good seats," she said, breaking eye contact and hurrying off.

With a rather dreamy sigh, I headed towards the snack bar, deciding that I could get used to that kind of payment. The line was kinda long, but I didn't mind. I could still feel Mitsuki's lips on mine, and the promise of more later was EASILY enough to keep me from noticing the wait. As I stepped up to the front, absently grabbing some napkins and stuffing them in my pocket, the sound of raised voices reached my ears.

"You knew I liked him!"

I blinked, looking around for the source of the disturbance. "That sounds like… Hikari…" I murmured, stepping out of line and heading toward the sound.

"Yeah, big deal," another voice replied, coming from just inside the front door, "not my fault you were too simpering to make the first move!"

I almost gasped as a break in the crowed revealed Hikari, standing face to face with Miho in the middle of a small group of onlookers. Of course, my initial surprise was WAY overshadowed by the deep-rooted shock I felt at hearing the rest of the conversation.

"I was waiting for a better time!" Hikari countered, growing red as she became aware of all the people watching, "His sister's in the hospital… and his father works all the time… you can't just play with-"

"Aww…" Miho cut in condescendingly, "the Class Rep of 2-A is getting flustered," she put her hands on her cheeks, feigning shock, "oh please! Don't tell the TEACHER!" she laughed as Hikari flushed brighter.

"You tramp…" Hikari hissed, her body shaking with anger, "Suzuhara is a good person – he didn't deserve what you did to him."

"Good person?" the dark-haired girl laughed, "Yeah… yeah he was, for a first timer."

"Shut up!!" Hikari shouted, "Don't talk about him like that!"

"You're just mad I got to him first," Miho smirked, "though, knowing you, you wouldn't have put out for him anyway, am I right?" Her smile broadened as Hikari's face grew dark, "Face it, Horaki," she snorted, turning away, "you're too much of a goody-goody to ever-"

"Hey…"

There was quite a crowd watching the exchange at that point, and when Hikari put her hand on the other girl's shoulder and cut her off, someone to my left chuckled, 'catfight!'

Now, I've never seen cats fighting, nor have I ever seen girls fighting – except in the movies – and based on the look on Hikari's face, a fight was DEFINITELY about to take place. From the movies I had seen I was expecting her to slap Miho, maybe scream, pull her hair, basically, as the old saying goes – fight like a girl.

As Miho turned, however, a sneer already forming on her face… Hikari's hand balled into a fist and lashed out, connecting solidly with the girl's cheek. 

As Miho uttered a surprised yelp, staggering back slightly from the blow, Hikari's other hand clenched into a fist. "You BITCH!" she screamed, "You let him fall for you! You knew he cared! Then you fucked him and dumped him!! You little who-"

Her tirade was cut short as the other girl whipped around, catching the Class Rep with the back of her hand. "You gonna sum up for me?" she asked, wiping a trickle of blood from her lip with her other hand… and grinning viciously, "I was there, remember? And you know something?" she lowered her voice, "He told me he loved me when he-"

"Shut up!!"

Hikari punctuated her shout with an open-handed slap, catching the girl off-guard with the suddenness of the attack.

I wish I could say I stepped in and tried to stop the fight… but I was too shocked. I was completely unprepared for the viciousness of the event. There WAS hair pulling… and there WAS slapping… and there WAS scratching. But there was also cursing… and punching… and kicking. This was not a child's fight – this was a FIGHT. I mean, I fight in a giant, biological weapon, and this was far, FAR worse than that – far more real. As I stood there, a memory surfaced – a half-remembered onslaught from my first battle. A haze of rage and blood and growling. Not that Hikari ripped anyone's chest open, but the intensity made me close my eyes, part of me not wanting to witness any more of the carnage. When I was able to look again, the two were being bodily restrained, each with a good number of bruises and cuts.

"This… isn't over!" Miho managed, sounding VERY out of breath… but by the look in her eyes, and the tremble in her voice, I thought that it probably was.

Hikari was trying to pull away from the two girls holding her back. "Don't ever come near him again!!" she shouted, "Do you hear me!? EVER!!"

Miho's friends led the girl away, though it looked to me like she didn't put up a big fight. However, she did hurl one last comment at Hikari as she made her exit.

"I don't need to, Horaki! You'll NEVER be his first!"

Hikari gasped… and her shoulders slumped. I thought at first that she might get angry again, maybe even continue the fight outside, but she simply stood still as she was released, staring blankly off into space.

I stood irresolute for a moment as the crowd slowly dispersed. I knew Mitsuki was waiting for me, and I desperately wanted to leave before I was seen. Cowardly? Yeah, maybe just a bit… but I never claimed to be a hero, and I'd rather face ten-thousand screaming angels than one crying girl. Not that Hikari was crying at the time, but you know what I mean.

I THINK I would have slipped away, had she not shaken herself and raised her head… and caught my eyes. "Ikari!" she exclaimed, blushing a furious shade of red, "How… how long have you… I mean… I…"

Swallowing, I walked up to her, looking around at the people that were still gawking. "Come over here," I said nervously, taking her elbow, "there's a little bench outside… ok?"

She nodded, still dazed, and let me lead her out.

I sat her down on the bench and reached into my pocket, pulling out the napkins I had secured from the snack bar. "I'm… sorry about this," I said awkwardly, sitting beside her and gently dabbing at one of the bloody scratches on her face.

"How long were you there…?" she murmured after a moment of silence, "Did you… hear everything?"

I hesitated, averting my eyes. "I heard… some stuff," I said slowly, wincing as she flinched.

"Can you, ummm… not tell Touji…?" she whispered, "Please, Shinji?" She laughed softly, "I'm not really used to having to ask for things, you know… but it would really mean a lot if you-"

"I won't tell him," I said quietly, pressing the napkin firmly against one of the cuts, "but, ummmm… I need to get back to… to my date…"

"Date?!" Hikari gasped, entirely taken off guard, "I… I didn't know…"

I blushed. "Yeah, we just started going out…" I blushed deeper, "this is our first real date date…"

"You sound like a girl," Hikari giggled. Her laughter turned into a grimace as her body reminded her that she had just been beaten on. "Oh, man that hurts…" she gasped, holding her sides, "bitch…"

I gaped at her, unused to hearing such harsh language come from her lips.

She must have seen my look, because she blushed. "Sorry about that," she said quietly, groaning a bit as she touched a bruise on her face, two inches from the cut I was currently tending, "I guess I'm just worked up." She smiled, "you should get back to her, though… I'll be ok…"

I looked into her eyes… and I knew she was lying. I'm not really good at reading people, or anything like that, but when a girl gets into a FISTFIGHT with another girl, then tells you, with tears in her eyes, that she'll be ok… well, it doesn't take a genius, you know?

When the tears in her eyes began slipping down her cheeks, and her chest began hitching, what was I supposed to do? Say, 'Ok, see ya later!' and run off to my pretty girlfriend? You know… I almost did just that. I didn't really know what to do, I mean – I'm not good at dealing with people, but I knew I couldn't leave her alone, crying outside a theatre, after getting in a fight… you know?

That goes beyond cowardice and into inhumanity.

"I can… stick around a few minutes," I said, carefully putting my hand on hers.

Her face, battered, bruised, tear-streaked, and bleeding, registered an odd combination of uncertainty and relief. "I… don't want to keep you," she gasped, trying to stay proper even as she wept, "you… should go to her…"

"I'm sure she'll understand…" I said with a strained smile, "do you… want me to get some ice, or something?"

Hikari's breathing became more labored as she tried, in vain, to contain her tears. "N-no…" she managed, "but could you… could you… put your arms around me?" Her eyes met mine, "P-Please…?"

I swallowed, scared by the desperate look in her eyes. "I… ummm…" -God, I shouldn't be doing this!- I thought, -It's not, like… cheating, but it might look bad if… man, I'm so pathetic! She's CRYING, and I'm worried about what people might say… what a loser…-

Taking a deep breath, and a quick look around, I leaned closer to her, tentatively embracing her. "Like that?" I asked awkwardly.

"Yeah," she answered, her voice squeaking slightly, "just… just like… like…"

Abruptly, she broke.

I thought I had seen tears before. I mean, I've had kind of a rough life, and I've cried quite a bit. I've also seen others crying, whether from physical pain, or emotional, I had seen many weeping faces. But Hikari… her tears were pure heartache. She had lost in a battle she wasn't even aware she had needed to fight in, to an opponent both older and more skilled than she.

I'm sure, in her place, I would have cried too.

She only cried for about four or five minutes, but it was deep, wracking sobs – the kind that get written about in books that have thousands of pages. And the longer she wept, the tighter she clung to me, burying her face in my shirt and all but screaming out her pain. I think, in any other situation, she would have chosen someone else, or cried alone. I mean, I'm not the closest person in the world to her, and I'm certainly not too comforting, I don't think. But since I was a familiar face, she allowed her guard to lower, and clung to me for dear life.

When she was finally finished, she kept holding me, shaking slightly and drawing in ragged breaths. "T-thank you…" she said, keeping her face buried in my shirt, "you're really… thanks…"

Carefully, I hugged her, sighing mentally and thanking my lucky stars that it was over, since hearing her cry had been pushing me towards the brink of tears myself. Her next few statements fell on me like a ton of bricks.

"Asuka's really lucky…"

"Huh?" I blinked, wondering what she had to do with this, "Why is that?" I inquired.

You know that sinking feeling you get when you just KNOW something's not going right? I can't tell you why, but at the mention of Asuka's name, I had that feeling.

She pulled away a bit, wiping her eyes and smiling, "Well, because she's got such a great guy…" She sighed, "I'm just glad she finally made up her mind…"

"Who?" I asked, confused, "I didn't even know she was seeing anyone…"

Again… that sinking feeling. Ok, maybe I kinda knew where she was heading, but there's no way in a million years I could have brought that concept to the fore. No way.

Hikari frowned. "Didn't you just say you were on a date?" she inquired, looking perplexed.

"Yeah," I admitted, "but what does that have to…" I trailed off, feeling a sudden increase in that awful sinking sensation in my stomach. –Can't be…- I thought, as a burst of insight struck home, -she can't be saying that me and Asuka…-

She was.

"Oh God!" Hikari gasped, covering her mouth, "Oh God, oh God, oh God!"

I stared at her in baffled silence, trying to make sense of what she was saying. "Asuka…" I began, licking my lips before carefully proceeding, "Asuka only likes Kaji… why would I be on a date with her?"

Entirely flustered, the Class Rep stammered, "You… you wouldn't, I mean… she DOESN'T like you! Wait, I didn't mean that, I mean… I… oh, I thought you and her…" she moaned, clutching her head, "oh! Just kill me now!!"

"Does Asuka li-"

"FORGET I SAID ANYTHING!!!" Hikari said desperately, grabbing me by the shoulders, "Please!! Asuka would kill me!"

I opened my mouth to tell her that she hadn't really told me anything, but if she wanted to clarify, I certainly wouldn't mind. Asuka? Liking ME? The idea was so preposterous that I almost laughed… but the desperate look in her eyes told me that she wasn't kidding, and before I could say a word, Mitsuki came out of the theatre, looking worried.

"Shinji, there you are!" she exclaimed, relief plainly evident on her face, "Is everything ok? I heard there was a fight."

At the sound of my date's voice, Hikari paled, her hands sliding off of my shoulders to rest in her lap. "Her…?" she breathed.

I nodded, standing as Mistuki approached us. "This is Hikari," I said, "Hikari, this is Mitsuki-"

"Rara," Hikari interjected, her tone sounding composed and in control, "I know. We've met."

"Horaki," Mitsuki said, frowning slightly, "what happened? Are you ok?"

Somehow, Hikari produced a smile, getting to her feet and shrugging slightly. "Had a little accident," she said levelly, "Shinji helped me out. Sorry I interrupted."

"It's ok," Mitsuki said kindly, "we were… trying to keep a low profile," she smiled at me, taking my hand, "but you're his friend, right? I guess it's ok for SOME people to know – I mean, can't keep it a secret forever."

"I won't tell anyone," Hikari said softly, sounding vaguely sick, "now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get home…" she bowed slightly, "see you later, Shinji… thanks again…"

As she moved off, Mitsuki clenched my hand, smiling sweetly. "You're so nice!" she said happily, "Helping her out. I'm so lucky to have you."  


I nodded as she looked around, then gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Come on," she said with a wink, "we've already missed half of the movie… let's just go somewhere and talk, ok?"

As we walked off, I stole a look back over my shoulder at Hikari… and found her staring right at me. Our eyes met for a moment, and she nodded slightly, as if reminding me of her promised silence. Then she turned and headed off towards the train station, walking slowly.

I sighed and continued on my way.

**

I walked through the apartment door at about a quarter past ten. I didn't notice at the time, but I'm sure a silly grin was plastered across my face. Mitsuki and I had spent altogether too short a time saying goodbyes. Very involved and tongue-intensive goodbyes, I remembered, grinning a bit wider.

However, as I entered, practically glided, into the living area, the smile fell from my face. Asuka lay on the couch, her attention focused on a magazine in hand. Her red hair flounced from side to side as she bobbed her head to some tune she was humming. I looked around the apartment, trying to think of something to say. Something that didn't sound random or crazy. Or guilty.

"Did Hikari call today, Asuka?"

"Don't DO that!!" she shouted, jumping a bit and letting her magazine fall to the ground. She arched her back, looking at me upside down. Her bangs hung toward the ground, creating an impression of falling up and giving me full view of her crystal blue eyes. "You took a year off my life, stupid Third Child!"

"Sorry," I said, the small grin on my face feeling false and wooden. I look at her eyes for a bit, only momentarily glancing at the cleavage her pose gave. I swallowed air and the lump in my throat, trying not to clench and unclench my hand. "But, uh, did she? Call, I mean?"

"Yeah," Asuka answered, stretching her arms until her hands touched the floor. "Said she took care of Izawa pretty good, got scratched up a bit…" She paused to make a small grunt at the effort of splaying her body across the couch. "Made me swear not to tell your stooge friend."

"Anything else?" I asked, unable to break eye contact.

"Umm, no," Asuka replied folding her hands behind her head and closing her eyes, "why? Did you think she was going to relay a message about her undying love for you, ya freak?"

I stared down at her, struggling to compose a reply. Nothing came to mind except the cafeteria conversation a few weeks ago, and seeing Asuka's embarrassment. Her chastised look occupied the forefront of my mind. Her downcast eyes and light blush. That and the feel of Mitsuki's lips and her hand in mine. With all of the conflicting images and feelings storming about in my mind, I decided a change of subject to be the best course of action. "Do anything fun tonight?"

She frowned slightly, keeping her eyes closed. "If by fun, you mean boring, then yeah – tons of fun stuff. Since Hikari was out kicking ass – without telling me first, of course! – and Kitsune was on a date… I was stuck here with the bird, and he's a load of laughs, really…" She stretched again, almost thrusting her chest into the air. "So what were you up to…?"

"Just… went to see a movie," I said hesitantly, fighting the urge to do something rash. Something Kaji or some romance novel character would do. I tensed, waiting for my mind to actually come up with something rash and drastic. I actually thought of just walking over and kissing her. Just kissing her! However, the idea died upon conception as I took a closer look at her face – and realized that her eyes weren't closed, but opened slightly.

And focused directly on mine.

I swallowed, taking a moment to compose myself before asking, "So, ummm… do we have any sync tests tomorrow?"

She sighed. "Yeah, at five…" she muttered, closing her eyes all the way, "really… you're so boring, Shinji. All alone in the house and you wanna talk about sync tests."

"Asuka…" I said uncertainly. I could have slapped myself as the weight of her full attention fell upon me. Her eyes peering at me unnerved me, killing any words that I might have said. Sadly, I lapsed into silence, not following up my initial impulse.

"What?" she asked, sounding annoyed by my trailing off – and none too shy about letting me know.

"N-nothing…" I said, looking away from her body and more importantly her eyes. "I'm going to bed."

"Whatever, Shinji," she sighed, curling herself back into a ball on the couch. She sat up a bit to gather her fallen magazine and returned to whatever thoughts she'd had before my intrusion. "Whatever…"

It's not an easy thing, confronting one's feelings, and the night had taken any certain ones I had and thrown them into complete disarray. I could still smell the faint aroma of Mitsuki's makeup and perfume. Still, as I headed into my bedroom, I couldn't help but wish that Hikari HAD told Asuka about my date. Maybe then SHE would have done something rash and dramatic.

Assuming, of course, she wanted to do anything involving me in the first place.

"What are you, stupid?" I asked myself, using Asuka's favorite phrase. As I undressed I tried to wrestle with the Hikari's words – and the memory of wrestling with Mitsuki's tongue. "Asuka likes Kaji. I'd have to be insane to think she liked me. And am I insane? No. I've got a nice girlfriend, that's what I've got. Pretty and fun and gentle and NICE. What's Asuka compared to Mitsuki, anyway?"

I stopped at the question, pondering on whether to answer it, or if I could answer it. Pushing aside the issue altogether, I slipped into my bed, putting my hands behind my head. "Festival's coming up soon," I reminded myself, envisioning Mitsuki on my arm and Asuka on someone else's, "wonder who she'll bring…"

I closed my eyes, wishing that life was easier. Between sync tests, girls, trying to figure out physics, and piloting a giant biomechanical monster… life certainly wasn't giving me any breaks. Or at least, it didn't seem that way.

"Two weeks," I told myself.

My, how time flies.

To be concluded…

Author's notes: Well kiddies, I think this one is wrapping up next chapter. ^_^ Why, you ask? Well, I kinda got everything done that I wanted to get done – or will have it done by next chapter – and I don't wanna stretch it out TOO long, lest it should grow bad or stale. And actually, it's already about 3 chapters longer than I had planned. So how will it all end? Stay tuned for the conclusion, coming… ummm… sometime in 2002… :)

Thanks to Rhine for pre-reading and providing some excellent material – especially near the end. You Da Man!

Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com


	10. When One Door Closes

Disclaimer: see part 4

Children

Part 10

When One Door Closes

By Random1377

"…doesn't make me look too fat, right?"

I paused in the hallway, one foot in the air, and frowned as Asuka's voice came to me from the living room.

"Well, maybe a bit," came the playful reply, "but only your butt, the rest-"

"Misato!"

I shook myself, lowering my foot (with the shoe still on it) and headed further into the house as Asuka's voice went on.

"Come on, this is important!"

"Ok!" Misato's voice replied, obviously laughing.  "It doesn't… really, it looks nice."

"Umm… hello?" I said cautiously, moving past the kitchen.

"_Stop_!"

I froze in my tracks as two commanding female voices ordered me to halt.  "What's going on?" I asked, confused, "Is something wrong?"

Of course I knew nothing was _really_ wrong.  I mean, I knew enough to know that they were talking about clothes – why else the 'fat' comment?  But I could not imagine anything so bad that I couldn't see it.

Unless… Asuka was in the middle of changing, and still in her underwear.

The very thought made me flush bright red and automatically turn my back to the living room… though I secretly hoped I might be able to find a reflective surface somewhere down the hall.

"Nothing yet, freak," Asuka's answer came to me, "but it sure will be if you come in here!"

"Hey Shinji," Misato called lightly, "you wanna go buy dinner?"

I sighed.

"Where's your purse?" I asked resignedly, allowing my mind to whirl with images of Asuka in sexy, lacy under-things as I waited for a reply.

Not a bad thought-pattern, I don't mind telling you.

"I'll pay you back."

"Alright," I groaned, knowing it was useless to argue… and that I wasn't getting paid back.

Why didn't I just offer to cook something?  Well… when you live with someone long enough, you learn to recognize when a question isn't really a question – you know what I mean?

_Not_ going out to buy something wasn't really an option.

"Back soon…" I called, getting a mutter from Asuka as a reply.

-I can't win,- I thought sadly, slipping my shoes back on.  –I live here too… this isn't fair.-

I opened the door, shaking my head in disbelief as Misato's final instructions followed me out.

"Make sure it's spicy!"

**

By the time I got home with the food, of course, Misato and Asuka were sitting in the kitchen talking about their plans for the evening… and they didn't even look up when I walked in, let alone show any sign that they would tell me what the fuss was all about.

"So Hikari's not going?" Misato queried, taking the takeout bag from me with a nod.

"Nah," Asuka sighed, "said she had something she wanted to do, and something she saw at the movies a few weeks ago convinced her she shouldn't wait any more."  She shrugged.  "Said it was something about waiting too long, or something, but she wouldn't tell me what she meant."  She leaned forward, her voice registering disapproval as she looked my way.  "Personally," she muttered, "I think it has something to do with, you know, that one…"  She sighed again, shaking her head sadly, "People never take my advice…"

-That one?- I thought, trying to think of who Hikari might be going out with.  –Maybe Touji knows.  He said he wasn't going to the festival either, and he's been talking to Hikari a bit more lately, maybe she told him?-

I think I need to pause here and mention my stupidity.

None of us had any idea that Hikari liked Touji, ok?  We were clueless.  It wasn't until two weeks later that he pulled me aside and told me that Hikari invited him over the night of the festival and told him that she wanted to start going out.  My shock wasn't nearly half of his, but it was pretty intense.  I guess he was pretty happy with it, though… said she was nothing like Miho – and that was just fine by him.

"You're getting a ride, right Shinji?"

Pushing aside a sudden memory of Hikari beating Miho stupid, I nodded.  "Yeah," I confirmed, nodding to Misato, "I'll just see you guys there."

Misato's eyes were twinkling, and she cast Asuka a quick, mischievous look.  "I'm sure you will," she said happily, "just try not to stare, ok?"

Perplexed, I muttered, 'sure,' and headed for my room.

Throwing myself on my bed, I groaned.  "No," I muttered, covering my face with my right arm, "I don't have a ride _there_.  I have a ride back, because I'm meeting Mitsuki and her mother said she could have the car tonight… so I don't really want to be teased when I meet her at the front gate…"

I sat there for a few minutes and stared at my shirt, which, I should mention, wasn't feeling terribly judgmental about me being a liar and a coward.  –Guess I should make sure I've got everything,- I thought finally, -only a few more hours to go.-

My outfit was hanging in my closet, right where I left it, and still looked damn good.  No, of course I didn't pick it out myself – my taste isn't that good.  Mitsuki went with me the week before and helped me choose a charcoal gray turtleneck, midnight blue slacks, and a black vest.  I pointed out to her the fact that this ensemble would ensure that I got hit by a car, should I find myself walking down a dark side-street.

Her reply…?  "Shinji… you won't be walking alone."

Being dense, I asked what she meant.  She was kind enough to clarify that she thought this outfit was very sexy on me, and she could assure me that as long as I was wearing it, she wouldn't let me _walk_ anywhere.  Then she kissed me, making sure that I understood all the subtext and innuendo that was implied.

Now, now, before any of you start thinking that Mitsuki was steering me towards the bedroom, let me assure you that… oh hell, I don't know, maybe she was – but I don't think her mind worked that way, to be honest.  I think she was just trying to make me feel good about myself.

And unless anyone reading this is not aware – having a pretty girl tell you that what you're wearing might not stay on you too long because it makes her warm all over gives you quite an ego boost.

Know what I mean?

Staying cooped up in my room for the remainder of the day, knowing that Mitsuki was going to be waiting for me _and_ that Asuka might very well be prancing around in scanty negligees under whatever outfit she was wearing was NOT easy.  No sir, not at all.  But somehow I managed to make it through the day, dressing around five o'clock and stepping out of my room with the hopes of spotting something I shouldn't.

Keep your commentary on the state of my hormones to yourself.  I'm 14.

As it was, all I spotted was a small note on the kitchen table informing me that Misato and Asuka had left early and didn't want to disturb me.  "Disturb me," I grumbled, folding the note carefully (one of my bad, nitpicky habits) before putting it in the garbage.  "I didn't even get to see what Asuka wore… no fair."

Still muttering, I headed out to catch the train, wondering as I walked through the crowded streets if catching a ride wouldn't have been better.  Certainly there was a lot of eye-candy on the streets, since it seemed that just about everyone in Tokyo-3 was in the mood to get dressed up for the festival, but I dislike large groups of people, so in spite of the fantastically well-dressed women all around me… I still felt alone.

The train ride itself was no better, as I found myself sandwiched between two very pretty, very underdressed young ladies.

I know, I know – this was a _problem_?  But consider that I'd just barely managed – and not even through my own actions, actually – to get a girlfriend.  I was still nervous around girls (especially ones I didn't know) and besides… I think one of them was deliberately rubbing against me at every stop.  She never quite looked at me, but every time our bodies touched, she would get this little grin on her face and relax a bit more.

By the time we arrived she was practically draped over me.

Excusing myself, and telling her 'you're welcome' with a deep blush, I stepped off the train and surveyed the scene.  The festival grounds were huge and sprawling, lined with pre-Second Impact shade trees and temporary food and game stands for the numerous festival goers.  In spite of the number of people, there was a feeling of vastness about the grounds that could not be denied, and an illusion of freedom and emptiness.

Or to put it in less flowery terms: the place was so big that there could have been three times as many people and you would still have enough room to walk side by side with your date and not bump into _too_ many other couples.

"Alright," I told myself, "I'm still a little early… might as well sit and wait."

I found a nice, shaded spot under (what else) a tall sakura, and sat down to wait… and wait… and wait.

As I waited, forty-five minutes, I watched the crowds milling past.  –They look happy,- I thought dejectedly as another couple wandered past, -maybe they wouldn't mind if I tagged along… or maybe I can find Misato…-

All of that sweet talk, all of those stolen kisses and secret touches, everything about Mitsuki suddenly seemed like a dream.  There wasn't really anyone out there that liked me, was there?  No, it was all an illusion – something my mind made up to keep me from going insane, or maybe it was all a plot designed to make me look stupid… either sounded plausible at that moment.

Yeah, I get depressed easy.

-Maybe her sister tied her up and kept her home,- I thought, my imagination going for wilder and wilder reasons as time stretched on, -or maybe she got in an accident. I should call her again… she might not have heard the first six mess-

"S-Shinji… sorry…"

I looked up, nearly delirious with relief.  "Mitsuki!"

Indeed it was.  Her hair was a bit disheveled, and she was standing with her hands on her knees and panting for breath, but she was there, and she was real.

Real late.

What?  I waited a long time!

"Are you ok?" I asked, having enough presence of mind to avoid whining about being forgotten.

Slowly, she knelt in front of me and lowered her head onto my lap with a sigh.  "I'm fine," she murmured, "I just…" She looked up at me, looking horribly guilty, "I fell asleep… I'm so sorry."  She hugged my waist tightly.  "Don't be mad, ok?  I stayed up late getting everything ready, and then I fell asleep when I was waiting until it was time to go."  She held me tighter.  "I didn't even have time to get dressed up – I just came in what I was wearing…"

I put my hand on her head, trying to be soothing.  "It's ok," I lied quietly, "I was late too, I didn't wait long."

"R-really?" she asked hopefully, sighing with relief as I nodded.  "Still, I'm sorry…"

"Really," I nodded.

And it was.  I can put up with a lot, and as far as I was concerned, the fact that she showed up at all erased any wrongdoing.

Kind of pathetic, I admit, but hey – that's me.

"Should we get something to eat?" I asked lightly, "Or did you want to play some games first or something?"

"Well," Mitsuki replied slowly, "I'm kinda hungry.  But before we do anything…"

I gasped as she put one hand on either side of me on the bench and leaned up, kissing me deeply – right in front of everyone.  Always before we had keep things like that private, reserving even handholding for empty parks or closed rooms, but there she was, showing anyone that wanted to know that I was hers.

-It'd be just my luck if Asuka walked by right now,- I thought randomly.

"Now we can go," Mitsuki told me as she pulled back, grinning as she stood and offered me her hand.

"That, ummm…" I looked around, "we've never… I mean…"

"Was it ok?" she asked, me uncertainly as I took her hand and got to my feet, "I just thought you might be tired of hiding all the time, and I know you've been worried about my sister not approving and stuff… but I just thought you might be ready to tell people now."  She lowered her eyes.  "I'm sorry if-"

"It's ok," I cut in quickly, seeing that she was starting to doubt herself.  "I just… wasn't expecting it."

"Did you like it?" she asked, her tone suddenly playful as she ran a finger over one of the buttons on my vest.  "I couldn't help myself… you look too good."

What's the fastest way to get me to stammer and stutter?  Compliment me, of course.

Mitsuki laughed as I managed to thank her, retorting that her skirt and blouse – both a soft peach – looked very nice as well.  She then offered me her arm, and together we headed into the festival.

**

There's an old song lyric that goes, 'Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you think everything's ok,' and damn it if that isn't the truth.  In my case, life came in the form of one Asuka Langley Souryu, and it (er, she) snuck up on me when I was waiting for Mitsuki to come out of the bathroom.

I was standing by one of the gazebos and trying to decide between ice cream (Mituski's weakness) and cotton candy (mine) when I felt soft, cool hands ease over my eyes.  "Guess who?"

Now, in all my years I've never claimed to have any kind of sixth sense.  However, even though I couldn't quite place the low, sultry voice in my ear, I _knew_ that saying 'Mitsuki' would be just a bad idea.  "Ummm… Misato?"

"You're a dork."

I blinked as the hands were pulled away from my eyes… and gasped as Asuka stepped around in front of me.

"Does that mean you approve, Third Child?" she asked dryly, arching an eyebrow and folding her arms over her breasts.

I couldn't answer – my voice refused to cooperate.

Asuka…. Asuka, Asuka, Asuka… that's all I could see.  It wasn't her hair, currently free of the a-10 connectors she always wore and flowing freely over her shoulders.  It wasn't her eyes, which caught and reflected every bit of light in the surrounding area and cast it back in shining, glorious blue.  It wasn't even her smile – crooked, knowing, and wickedly sexy – that took my breath away.

It was her dress.

Asuka was wearing a perfectly tailored flame-red kimono, highlighted with white orchids – in print, and actually stitched to the fabric.

"The flowers were a nice touch, don't you think?" she asked innocently, her eyes sparkling.  "They're only good for tonight, of course, and they probably won't even last that long, but I thought they looked nice…"  She leaned closer to me, smiling broadly, "Wouldn't you agree?"

I could only nod.

"So boring," she sighed, turning away.  "Guess I'll go see what Kaji's doing."

"K-Kaji?" I stammered lamely.

Her smile grew exponentially.  "My date."  She raised her hand to her lips and blew me a kiss. "Bye now."

I stared, dumbfounded, as she walked away, waving enthusiastically as Kaji seemed to materialize out of the crowd.  And I think my jaw dropped open as she took his arm and laid her head on his shoulder.

-Just go for it, Shinji,- I thought, recalling the man's words as he waved to me, -suuuure, Kaji…-

"Sorry I took so long."

I jumped nearly out of my skin as Mitsuki spoke behind me.

"Hi," I said quickly, turning to face her and hoping she hadn't seen me staring.

"She's another pilot, isn't she?" Mitsuki said lightly, nodding to where Asuka had already vanished into the night.  "Souryu, right?"

My shoulders slumped.  –She doesn't look angry,-  I thought hopefully, -Maybe she didn't see me drooling.-

"Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully as I nodded.  "She's cute."

"I… I guess," I murmured.

Mitsuki stepped forward and embraced me, kissing my neck lightly.  "Does she like you, Shinji?  It looked like she was pretty happy to see you."

"I don't know," I said honestly.

"Do you like her?"

I froze.  "What?" I whispered, feeling her arms tighten around my waist as she rested her forehead against my shoulder.

"Do you like her, Shinji?" she repeated, slowly looking up into my eyes.  "I saw the way you were staring at her… I want to know if you like her."

Swallowing hard, I whispered.  "I like you, Mitsuki…"

She smiled, relaxing slightly and kissing me on the cheek.  "Good."

**

Now, let me say, in my defense, that I tried really hard.

I could tell that Mitsuki was upset about me looking at Asuka, so I tried really hard to pay attention to her and her alone.  But then – since I'm prefacing this with that disclaimer – you can tell that I wasn't as successful as I'd hoped, can't you?

Yeah…

Things were fine for about an hour or so.  We walked around the festival, played a few games, kissed a couple times, and made plans to have dinner around eight – which would leave us an hour to eat before the fireworks.  We ran into Kensuke and Shinobu, who looked very awkward, and Mitsuki told them, rather boldly, that we were dating.

I think that should have been the first warning sign.  She had never been particularly possessive before, but she slipped her arm around my waist and pulled me close to her, asking Kensuke, "Don't we look good together?"

Kensuke looked dazed, and I can't say I blame him.  I mean, Mitsuki was one of the cutest girls in school – and she was clinging to me like a life preserver.  It just didn't quite gel in his mind.  "Yeah," he nodded, mirroring Mituski's pose with Shinobu.  "Don't we?"

Shinobu, I thought, looked rather pale… except for those two bright red splotches on her cheeks.

"You should stick with someone you're good with, right?" Mitsuki said, nodding confidently.

"Sure," Kensuke agreed.

"Umm," Shinobu hummed, her face now a vibrant red, "I think Mitsune is calling us."

We offered them both a nice night and excused them, heading deeper into the park.

"See how happy they looked?" Mitsuki whispered after a moment.  "That was cute."

"They did look happy," I confirmed, feeling rather uncomfortable under her intense gaze.

She stopped me, wrapping her arms around me and kissing me deeply.  "You should be happy with what you have, right?" she muttered when she pulled away.

"What do you mean?" I asked, truly not following her.

She took a deep breath.  "Nothing."

We walked around a bit more, but the feeling of comfort and ease that we had started the evening with was long gone.  Every time another couple passed us – especially if it was someone Mitsuki knew – she would tighten her hold on my arm and kiss my cheek.  This went on until, in a twist of really, really cruel fate, I spotted Asuka and Kaji again.

-She looks happy,- I thought idly, -and Kaji looks like he's bearing it pretty well.-  I smiled softly.  –That kimono really does look good on h-

Being slapped, I can tell you, hurts.  Kinda makes your eyes sting, and almost gives you that surreal, movie-like feeling.  But you know what hurts more than a slap?  A slap you don't see coming.

"Ow!" I cried blinking with open shock as I turned to face Mitsuki.  "What was that for?"

She looked stunned – as if she could not believe that she had actually hit me.  Her eyes were wide, and her hands were covering her face, a barely heard, "Sorry," escaping her.  I was about to ask again what I had done wrong, but that's when I noticed the tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

"Mitsuki…?" I whispered, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't!" she exclaimed suddenly, taking a step back and lowering her arms to her sides, clenching them unconsciously into fists.  "Don't… touch me…"

"What is it?" I asked, completely at a loss as her chest started to hitch.  "Why ar-"

"Why?" she cut in, her body shaking now.  "Why do you keep looking at her like that??"

My eyes widened, and I followed her gaze.  "At… Asuka?" I asked.

She nodded, taking another step back from me.  "I thought it was just because you guys lived together," she sniffed, "but every time I see you with her, you're staring… why?  Do you like her?  Why didn't you tell me you liked her before we started going out??"

"I don't stare at her all the time," I protested, trying to get close to her again.

"Every day!" Mitsuki shot back, retreating further.  "Every time she's around, you look – even if it's just a second, you sneak a look, even… even when you're with me…" she lowered her head, "like tonight."  She took a deep, rattling breath.  "I'm not asking you to look at me like that, Shinji… but why do you have to look at her that way when we're together?"

"I'm sorry," I said awkwardly, "but I really don't-"

"Stop," Mitsuki cut in, covering her mouth with her hand and turning away.  "Just… stop lying to me, Shinji!"

"But, but," I stammered, "I really-"

I cut myself off as she shook her head.  "I can't do this anymore," she sobbed, "I thought I could ignore it, as long as you were with me… but I can't, Shinji!"

"Mituski, wait!" I cried, reaching out and grabbing her arm.  "I can… stop," I said haltingly, "I like you, Mitsuki – I can be better."

"No, Shinji," she whispered, her voice broken and sad, "it's just…"

I'll never forget what she said then… and I knew – I knew – that I had no reply.  I let her go, unable to even look at her as she started walking off into the night, breaking into a run after only a few steps and quietly removing herself from my life.

**

Where do I go when I'm really down?  What can I say… I'm predictable.

I sat in the apartment, cradling my cello against my shoulder and working the bow across the strings as carefully and slowly as I could, drawing the quiet strands of Air into being and trying not to feel too depressed.

-I should call her,- I thought, frowning and closing my eyes, -she said not to, but didn't Kaji say that sometimes women want us to do the things they tell us not to do?-

I pushed back at the thought, trying to concentrate on playing.

-I can't believe I was that stupid,- I berated myself, -maybe I can go find Rei while I'm at it, tell her, 'Hey, remember when you said you'd keep it a secret if we were dating?  Well, you know…'-

I blushed, nearly missing a chord.

-Stupid,- I thought with some shame, -and if she said yes, then what?-

It wasn't that Rei wasn't pretty.  I mean, she was – not breathtakingly so, but she was no slouch.  It's just that, every time I tried to picture her, umm – that way – it just didn't quite fit.  It just felt wrong.

I closed my eyes, playing the last note and bowing my head.  –Stupid…-

My head jerked up as I heard clapping behind me.  "Asuka?" I murmured, craning my neck to find that it was indeed the redhead.

"You've been practicing," she said approvingly, setting her purse on the kitchen table ad coming into the room.

I lay my bow down and nodded as she walked over to stand in front of me.  "I've been trying to get that song right," I shrugged.

Asuka tilted her head to the side.  "Really?" she asked, folding her arms.  "Can I ask you something, Shinji?"

"Sure," I replied, wondering if she was going to start teasing me about leaving the festival so early.

"Do you still play because no one's told you to stop?" she asked, glancing down at the cello, then back up to me.  "Or do you have other reasons now?"

"Other reasons?" I queried.

"Yeah," she nodded, "like, you said you wanted to get that song right – but no one told you to do that, Shinji… so why are you?"

"I like that song," I answered lamely.

Asuka must have been in a very good mood, I decided, because instead of rolling her eyes, she commented, "So you're doing it because _you_ want to."

"I guess," I confirmed, leaning the instrument on the chair and standing.  I glanced at the clock.  "Isn't the festival still going?" I wondered.

"Yeah," Asuka sighed, "but it was lame and I wasn't having any fun, so Kaji took me home."

I barely bit my tongue in time, because as God is my witness, I almost said, 'Oh, Kaji the magnificent wasn't all he was cracked up to be?'

Thank Heaven for second thoughts.

Neither of us spoke for a moment, and I think I must have jumped just a little when Asuka said, "Let's go sit in the living room, I'm tired."

"Ok," I agreed, following her and taking a seat on the opposite side of the couch.

"Man," she yawned, "they sure had good food, though, huh?"

I leaned back on the couch, ruefully shaking my head.  "I only had a little cotton candy," I sighed.  "Kinda left before I planned to."

"Yeah," Asuka nodded, "so what was up with that?"

"Hmm?"

She put one hand behind her neck, gazing at me intently.  "Why did Rara dump you?"

There are certain ways a person can ask certain questions so as to lessen the emotional impact they would otherwise have… this, obviously, was not one of those ways.

"I, ummm," I stammered, "she said I wasn't ready to be all hers," I blurted.  "She said if she couldn't have all of me, then she didn't want me."

"Hmm," Asuka hummed thoughtfully, "makes sense."  Before I could retort – not that I had anything witty to say, of course – she said, "So why couldn't you, Shinji?  I mean, she's pretty cute, and nice and stuff.  Her sister's a bitch, but she's ok… so what's the big deal?"  She grinned suddenly, leaning over a bit to nudge me in the ribs and whisper, "It's that whole, 'Men can't commit,' thing, isn't it?  Come on, you can tell me."

She laughed as I blushed.  "How did you know we were going out?" I asked suddenly.

Now it was her turn to blush.  "People talk," she sniped, her attitude cooling significantly.

My shoulders slumped as the feeling in the living room went from comfortable to un in the blink of an eye.  –Why is it,- I thought miserably, -that no matter what I say, it's the wrong thing?-  Timidly, haltingly, I whispered, "That kimono looks really nice… when did you get it?"

Asuka stared straight ahead and folded her arms over her stomach.  "Why do you care?" she returned quietly.

Have you ever had a flash of insight?  I don't know… I don't get them that often, and when I do it kind makes my head spin.  Sometimes, something will just suddenly become clear.  Now that night, I'll admit, the flash of insight was _not_ very profound… but I do think it changed the way the evening ended.

"We should go play paintball again," I said thoughtfully.  "I had a lot of fun."

Asuka snorted.  "You were out in like, two minutes," she pointed out.

"Yeah," I admitted, "but it was kind of fun, you know?  Running around… having fun… relying on each other."  I shrugged.  "I got knocked out pretty fast, but… but should you give up on something just because you don't get it right the first time?"

Asuka said nothing for a moment, her lips compressing as she considered this.  Finally, coolly, she whispered, "I can't believe I'm hearing this from you… you run away from everything."

Now, I almost got up and ran right then – yup, just up and off the couch and into the bedroom, maybe with a mumbled, 'goodnight.'  And the reason I stayed?  No… not courage (go back and reference the 'I'm a coward' portion of this text, please) it was tiredness.  I was just tired.  Tired of being rejected.  Tired of running away all the time.  Tired of always being the one that says I'm sorry.  And most of all, damn it I was just tired.

Hey, it was a long day.

"So," I said slowly, "do you want to?"

I think she might have been a little mad at me for not running away, I really do.  The oddest look of frustration flashed across her face, as if she was thinking, 'That's not how you're supposed to reply when I tell you how weak you are.'

"Sure," she muttered, "Lord knows you need the practice."

I nodded.  "Ok."

-Now, the silence,- I thought with the mental equivalent of a sigh.  –We'll just sit here for a while… she'll decide she's tired… and that's that.-  I frowned as a strange little thought occurred to me.  –Doesn't have to be that way, you know.-  I folded my arms, letting my mind run with the idea.  –Mitsuki asked _you_ out,- my brain reminded me, -and when you were with her, what did you do?  What have you never been able to do with Asuka?-

"Well," Asuka said, cutting into my thoughts and leaning forward, "guess I'm gonna go to b-"

"Tell me about Germany."

She paused.  "Tell you about Germany?" she murmured, looking a bit confused, "What do you want to know?"

I leaned back on the couch.  "You've never really told me anything about it before," I pointed out slowly, "so I don't really know… but I was kinda wondering what it was like for you."

"Why?"

I rubbed my eyes, wishing her tone wasn't so suspicious.  "Misato's always saying you should know your enemies," I said reasonably, hoping my next statement would come out sounding as good as it did in my mind.  "So… shouldn't you know your friends, too?"  When I opened my eyes, Asuka was turned to face me, her elbow on the back of the couch and her right hand supporting her head as she stared at me.  I forced myself not to look away – for the very first time in my life, it seemed, finding strength when I needed it most.

"I lived with my grandmother," Asuka said finally, keeping her eyes on mine.  "She was very strict… didn't like a lot of fuss or crying or anything that hinted at weakness, and she made it clear to me, very, very soon after I moved in, that no one in this world will help you if you can't even help yourself."

I nodded.  "Go on."

She averted her eyes.  "Well," she said slowly, "since I didn't really have any friends, and my father was…" she frowned down at the couch cushions, "busy," she whispered, "I had nothing else better to do besides study.  I figured out pretty soon that I was smarter than the other kids in my class," she shrugged, a ghost of a smile appearing on her lips, "not like I'm a super-genius or anything, but things seemed to come easier to me than for them.  So after finishing my schoolwork every night, after my EVA training, of course, I started reading up on the next grade's work."

"So how old were you when you started university?" I asked curiously, turning so that I was mirroring her position on the couch.

"I was ten," she replied, "just barely, actually."  Her smile grew a little more genuine as she started to get lost in the past.  "There was a teacher, Mister Schmidt – very German, I know… he realized that I was bored out of my mind in his class, and that I was always getting hundreds on his tests."  She stretched a bit, yawning as she concluded, "So he started tutoring me, talked to a friend at New-Berlin Academy, and got me in."

I nodded thoughtfully.  "Wow," I murmured, "that must have been hard."

"It wasn't too bad up until the last semester," she shrugged, "I had some tough classes then, and one teacher that thought a thirteen year old in her class was an insult to her teaching."  She folded her arms on the back of the couch, resting her cheek on them as she said, "Your turn."

"My turn?" I asked uneasily.

"Uh huh," she grinned, "I don't even know where you lived before you moved in with Misato."

I had never had an urge to talk about myself before, but I couldn't ignore her request.  "I lived with my uncle, just outside of Okinawa," I told her, speaking reluctantly… knowing she would think I was boring.  "We just… lived, I guess, we read books and ate and did chores around the house, but really that's it.  We just existed."  I shrugged uncomfortably, "Pretty boring, really… nothing like what you did."

Asuka yawned.  "Doesn't sound too bad, actually," she murmured.  "So was it your father's brother or your mother's?"

I frowned.  "I don't know, honestly," I admitted reluctantly.  "No one ever told me, and I never asked.  He might not have even been related – you know how sometimes people call their friend an uncle… I think he might have been a friend of my mother's."

She yawned again, and I noticed that the time it was taking her to blink was growing longer and longer.  She caught me totally off guard as she whispered, "You like things quiet, though, don't you?"

"Yes," I replied without thinking.  "I guess that makes me pretty boring."  I offered her a tentative smile.  "But you like quiet sometimes too, don't you?  I mean… the festival was loud and stuff, but it was still boring, right?"

Asuka closed her eyes for a minute, making no reply.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed," she said, sitting up and stretching.  "I'll see you in the morning, k?"

"Hey, Asuka?" I said quickly, not wanting to lose the feeling of comfort I had.

"Hmm?"

"Maybe you could tell me some more about Germany some time?"

Asuka considered this, biting her bottom lip pensively before nodding.  "Maybe some time," she nodded, "maybe if it's ever quiet like this and Misato's not around… we'll see."

I nodded, blushing as I added, "You looked very nice tonight, Asuka."

She blinked, a slow smile spreading across her features.  "Don't push your luck, Ikari," she chided, "but… you didn't look too bad yourself."

"Really?" I grinned foolishly.

"Really."

We looked at each other without saying anything for what felt like forever, but was probably only about ten seconds.  Then I foolishly broke the spell by whispering, "Goodnight."

Asuka smiled one more time.  "Night," she replied, starting towards her room.  She stopped at the door to the living room, though, looking back over her shoulder with the oddest thoughtful expression.

"Something wrong?" I asked, unable to meet her gaze.

She shook her head, keeping her enigmatic smile.  "Sweet dreams, Third Child," she said, turning back to the door and waving over her shoulder.

"Umm… ok…" I whispered belatedly, more to myself than her.

I lay back on the couch and folded my arms behind my head, staring up at the ceiling as I considered our conversation.  I never heard Misato come in that night, but from what she tells me, I fell asleep on the couch with a smile on my face...

The End

Author's notes: not as happy-go-lucky as the rest of the chapters, I suppose, but I think it had the same feel to it… right?  ^_^  This marks the end of Children.  I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it.  As a quick note on the ending pointing towards Shinji and Asuka getting closer – this story was started as a Shinji/Asuka romance… it just kinda grew to be a bit more of a general look at childhood as it progressed.  So in short: this was the ending I intended since page 1.  Or rather, a _far_ less sappy version of the ending I intended since page 1.  :P

Pre-read was by Rhine, who has a copy of the original ending and swears it will never be loosed on the world!  So, umm… thanks…?  ^_~

Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com


End file.
